Golden Surprise

Across the prairie wheatfields, tractor headlights flickered through the night, and the clank of combines filled the still air. As farmers raced to beat late summer hailstorms, a harvest that defied drought, dust storms and the dire predictions of experts was moving in a golden stream last week to Canada's bins and elevators. The new wheat crop, estimated at 340 million bu., will probably be the smallest in four years --down sharply from 1956-57's huge 573.1 million bu. But it is so much better than anyone thought possible in early summer that many a wheat-belt farmer said a quiet prayer of thanks for a narrow escape from disaster. Said one Saskatchewan Wheat Pool official: "It's like the loaves and the fishes. It's a miracle."

Clouds of Dust. A miracle it was not. It was a triumph of technology over nature. For the second straight year, the prairie earth was made to yield more moisture than it received. An almost snowless winter gave way to an arid spring; by June topsoil began to blow in a grim reminder of the Dirty Thirties. "Every time there was a sprinkle." said a Moose Jaw farmer, "I'd go out and kick the soil. All I got was a cloud of dust."

What saved the crops was the fact that many farmers wisely retired their dustiest fields to fallow. On their remaining acres, they used new chemical weed killers, planted drought-resistant strains whose roots went down 5 ft. to bring up moisture. By last week the victory was in sight: not only was the yield per acre good, but the wheat itself was rich in protein and sure to command top prices on world markets.

Mountains for Sale. The markets Canada is likely to find for its wheat look encouraging, too, should help eat into the mountainous stockpiles of surplus grain. The Canadian Wheat Board reported that exports rose last year to 316 million bu.--highest in five years--leaving a carryover of 614,800,000 bu. on hand at the start of the new crop year, Aug. 1. This year the stockpile should shrink considerably.

A combination of improving world markets, an abundant supply of top-quality wheat, and energetic selling should give Canada a fatter share of the world wheat market. A team of Wheat Board salesmen plans to tour Europe this fall. Trade and Commerce Minister Gordon Churchill is also considering a personal selling visit to the Soviet Union, and possibly Red China, to try for bigger orders from last year's most surprising new customers. The one major stumbling block to bumper business is the U.S., which is completing a billion-bushel harvest of its own and is just as anxious as Canada to cut down wheat stocks. Canadians think they can more than hold their own. Though the U.S. wheat is likely to be cheaper on world markets, its quality is lower, cannot compare to Canada's rich harvest from the drought.

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