80 years ago this week. Sales of farm land in Ohio during recent months averaged $105 per acre, according to state statistician C.J. West. The average was on 360 sales of farms distributed across the state. Sale of land through foreclosures averaged $82 per acre, as compared with $118 for open sales. In the southwestern part of the state, the average was not far from $60 per acre. The average selling price in the western and central Corn Belt was $120 an acre.
New maple syrup has appeared on the markets in eastern Ohio, ranging from $2 to $2.50 at retail. Last year’s syrup is bringing $1.50 to $1.75.
50 years ago this week. According to the Action Committee for Agricultural Research and Education: “Today the nation ponders food surpluses, but tomorrow the problem will be a far more serious one – that of food shortages.
“These are the facts we face: For every four people at the dairy table today in the U.S., there will be five by 1975. At current rates of food production, we will need 100 million extra acres of cropland to meet the food demands forecast.
“The land is not available.”
25 years ago this week. A talking computer with a vocabulary of more than 100 words has been demonstrated as a link in Ford Tractor Operations new nationwide parts ordering system. The computer-directed parts ordering system, which uses space-age technology to transmit information, will permit Phillis Ford Tractor of Hanoverton, Ohio, to “talk” with nine regional depots for fast and efficient parts ordering. Ford tractor dealers throughout the United States are tying into the system which will be operable nationwide my mid-1978.
State universities around the country find more and more students enrolling in agriculture programs. Newest national statistics show 98,519 students in agriculture or related topics. That’s up about 80 percent from the 1970 figure of 54,000. The figures show evidence of a growing interest in farming and agribusiness.
