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CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY OF PART AI CURRENT PRODUCTIVITY Of the agricultural materials grown primarily for industrial purposes in the United states, only cotton and flax are of major importance. The production of both has declined in recent years. Although higher prices of synthetic fibers derived from petroleum may make it possible for cotton to regain some lost markets, it is unlikely that either crop will make undue new demands on agricultural acreage in the United States. Major by-products of agricultural materials grown for food find substantial industrial usage in the cases of wool, animal fats and hides, and certain oilseed crops such as soybeans and peanuts. In each instance, however, the amount of industrial product available will be directly dependent upon the demand for and the production of the basic food or feed material. The same can be said for agricultural residues, whether crop residues such as cereal straws, bagasse and corn stalks, or animal residues such as manure. Whatever the industrial use it will have little effect upon the level of productivity of the food resource. POTENTIAL PRODUCTIVITY More cropland is available in the United States than is currently being cropped. Productivity per acre can be increased substantially through more intensive agricultural practices based upon available technology. Manpower and energy demands may be lessened through careful management. Recent surveys of projected demand for agricultural products indicate that the United States can produce its own food needs and supply reasonable export markets through the year 2000 if present trends continue. The productivity of cotton, flax and other agricultural materials used for industrial purposes constitutes but a small portion of the American agricultural production. The report on Agricultural Production Efficiency (NRC 1975b), therefore, applies equally to agricultural industrial products as it does to agricultural food products. We see no basis for believing that either the level of biological productivity of agricultural lands or the amount of land available for - 101-
growing crops will limit agricultural production of industrial materials in the United States for the rest of the current century. - 102 -
REFERENCES - PART II Anderson, L.L. (1972) Energy potential from organic wastes: a review of the quantities and sources. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8549, 16 pp. Carr, A.B. and D.W. Culver (1972) Agriculture, population and the environment. Chapter 7 of Population, Resources, and the Environment, The Commission on Population Growth and the American Future Research Reports. Washington, D.C. pp. 183-211. Dudley, G.E. (1974) U.S. textile fiber demand: price elasticities in major end-use markets. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Technical Bulletin 1500. 66 pp. Gatewood, L.B., Jr. (1973) The energy crisis: can cotton help meet it? National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, Tenn., multilithed. 77 pp. Handler, P., Editor (1970) Biology and the future of man. New York, London, and Toronto: Oxford University Press 936 pp. National Research Council (1975a) Enhancement of Food Production for the United States, Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences. 174 pp. National Research Council (1975b) Agricultural Production Efficiency. Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources Washington* D.C.: National Academy of Sciences 199 pp. National Water Commission (1973) Water policies for the future. Final report to the President and to the Con- gress of the United States. Washington, D.C. 579 pp. Quance, L. (1974) Demand projections â a commodity outlook and economic situation update. Presented at the American Seed Trade Association Farm Seed Conference, Kansas City, Mo. 20 pp. Smith, A., V. Harrison, C.J. Yeh, A. Fox and L. Quance (1974) Projections of the U.S. farm subsector and policy implications. Working Materials L.Q. 4.74. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 49 pp. -103 -
U.S. Department of Agriculture (1974a) Agricultural statistics 1974. Washingtont D.C. 619 pp. (also previous similar publications) U.S. Department of Agriculture, (1974b) Economic Research Service Our land and water resources: current and prospective supplies and uses. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Miscellaneous Publication 1290. 54 pp. Wadleigh, C.H. (1968) Wastes in relation to agriculture and forestry. U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1065. 112 pp. - 104 -
