Business & Finance: Not Enough

Farmers are not planting as much this year as the Department of Agriculture wants. According to department estimates last week, farmers intend to plant 366 million acres, about eight million more than last year but four million less than in 1949. The biggest disappointment is in the prospects for corn, needed for meat, dairy and poultry production. The department wanted 90 million acres in corn this year, but farmers are boosting their acreage only slightly, to 85.6 million. Agriculture still hopes that farmers will boost plantings before it is too late, thus keep food prices from going higher.