Transportation of Rice in the South: An Economic Survey

Excerpts from the report: During World War II, rice production in the United States was increased considerably to meet expanded requirements in the Western Hemisphere, formerly supplied in part by Asian crops. Increased demand caused farm prices to rise sharply. Production continued to rise after the war, but prices have followed a much more unsteady course than has production. After rising to a peak in 1947, farm prices fell sharply in the following 2 years. They rose again because of the Korean hostilities, reaching a second peak in 1952. Since then, prices of rice have declined. The combination of increased production and falling prices has stimulated a program in the U. S. Department of Agriculture to develop less costly or more effective marketing methods as well as other means of increasing farm income from rice. As part of this program, an economic survey of the transportation of rice was undertaken jointly by the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Farmer Cooperative Service. This survey was intended to furnish information about rice transportation which would be useful to the rice industry, the various carriers, and the general public