--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is obvious that the greatest and most…" description: "\"It is obvious that the greatest and most important service that is required of our agriculture under existing conditions is an enlarged production of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/david-f-houston-28462_agriculture_it-is-obvious-that-the-greatest-and-most_542140.png" --- # It is obvious that the greatest and most important service… ![“It is obvious that the greatest and most important service that is required of our agriculture under existing conditions is an enlarged production of the staple food crops.” quote by David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/david-f-houston-28462_agriculture_it-is-obvious-that-the-greatest-and-most_542140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/david-f-houston-28462_agriculture_it-is-obvious-that-the-greatest-and-most_542140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/899/david-f-houston-28462_agriculture_it-is-obvious-that-the-greatest-and-most_542140.png) > “It is obvious that the greatest and most important service that is required of our agriculture under existing conditions is an enlarged production of the staple food crops.” [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most crucial agricultural need is to increase staple crop production to meet current demands, highlighting food security. **In simple terms:** We must grow more staple foods. Key Takeaway Boost staple crop yields. Themes food security agriculture policy Mood concerned optimistic Type policy strategic When to use this quote - government planning - farm management - international aid - urban planning Key Concepts crop yields population growth economic stability Questions to Reflect On - How can we increase yields sustainably? - What policies support staple crop expansion? A Different Perspective Increasing production may strain resources and environment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Crops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crops/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) ## Related quotes > [The duty of the individual farmer, at this time, is to increase his production, particularly of food crops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-duty-of-the-individual-farmer-at-this-time-is-to-increase-his/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Some bioengineering is good, especially if it results in plants that are more drought-resistant or perennial food crops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-bioengineering-is-good-especially-if-it-results-in-plants-that/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Back in 1983, the United States government approved the release of the first genetically modified organism. In this case, it was a bacteria that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/back-in-1983-the-united-states-government-approved-the-release-of-the/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“Across the board, levels of key mineral nutrients—zinc, calcium, manganese, iron, copper—in our food crops have declined by an average of 50 to more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/across-the-board-levels-of-key-mineral-nutrients-zinc-calcium/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [Most of the food crops raised in the world today are fed to livestock destined for slaughter for us to eat, and most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/most-of-the-food-crops-raised-in-the-world-today-are-fed-to-livestock/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [There are plenty of publicly-funded organizations and nonprofits that are trying to develop GMO crops that could help feed people in developing nations by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/there-are-plenty-of-publicly-funded-organizations-and-nonprofits-that/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [“According to Indian crop ecologist Vandana Shiva, humans have eaten some 80,000 plant species in our history. After recent precipitous changes, three-quarters of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/according-to-indian-crop-ecologist-vandana-shiva-humans-have-eaten/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The most effective step that may be taken to increase the production of these crops is to enlarge the acreage devoted to them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-most-effective-step-that-may-be-taken-to-increase-the-production/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Barley, where it succeeds, yields a larger weight of feed per acre than any other small grain crop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/barley-where-it-succeeds-yields-a-larger-weight-of-feed-per-acre-than/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Corn is the leading food and feed crop of the United States in geographic range of production, acreage, and quantity of product. The vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/corn-is-the-leading-food-and-feed-crop-of-the-united-states-in/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Buckwheat may be planted later than any similar crop, and often does well on old meadows or waste land that can be broken after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/buckwheat-may-be-planted-later-than-any-similar-crop-and-often-does/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [For the Gulf States, perhaps no forage crop of which the available seed supply is relatively abundant exceeds the velvet bean in potential value.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/for-the-gulf-states-perhaps-no-forage-crop-of-which-the-available/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [In the southern half of the country perhaps no crop has larger possibilities for quick increase of production of food for both men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/in-the-southern-half-of-the-country-perhaps-no-crop-has-larger/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [In the Middle East, bread is so essential to everyday life that word for it in Egyptian Arabic is aish, which means life. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/in-the-middle-east-bread-is-so-essential-to-everyday-life-that-word/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [Read. Read all the time. Read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-read-all-the-time-read-as-a-matter-of-principle-as-a-matter-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David F. Houston > [The duty of the individual farmer, at this time, is to increase his production, particularly of food crops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-duty-of-the-individual-farmer-at-this-time-is-to-increase-his/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The high food value of field beans and the shortage of supply due to the light yields of 1915 and 1916 render them of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-high-food-value-of-field-beans-and-the-shortage-of-supply-due-to/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The soy-bean, in particular, has proved sufficiently resistant to cold in spring and to adverse weather during summer to warrant heavy planting, especially throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-soy-bean-in-particular-has-proved-sufficiently-resistant-to-cold/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [In the southern half of the country perhaps no crop has larger possibilities for quick increase of production of food for both men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/in-the-southern-half-of-the-country-perhaps-no-crop-has-larger/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [For the Gulf States, perhaps no forage crop of which the available seed supply is relatively abundant exceeds the velvet bean in potential value.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/for-the-gulf-states-perhaps-no-forage-crop-of-which-the-available/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [What this loss means will be appreciated from the statement that one bushel of wheat contains sufficient energy to support the average working man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/what-this-loss-means-will-be-appreciated-from-the-statement-that-one/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Buckwheat may be planted later than any similar crop, and often does well on old meadows or waste land that can be broken after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/buckwheat-may-be-planted-later-than-any-similar-crop-and-often-does/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The value of the beans for oil production, as well as for human food, has become recognized so quickly and so generally during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-value-of-the-beans-for-oil-production-as-well-as-for-human-food/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The importance to the nation of a generously adequate food supply for the coming year cannot be overemphasized, in view of the economic problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-importance-to-the-nation-of-a-generously-adequate-food-supply-for/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Corn is the leading food and feed crop of the United States in geographic range of production, acreage, and quantity of product. The vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/corn-is-the-leading-food-and-feed-crop-of-the-united-states-in/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [Barley, where it succeeds, yields a larger weight of feed per acre than any other small grain crop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/barley-where-it-succeeds-yields-a-larger-weight-of-feed-per-acre-than/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The older, thinner, and less productive grass lands, however, frequently can be made to produce much larger yields of feed in corn than if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-older-thinner-and-less-productive-grass-lands-however-frequently/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The usefulness of cow-peas and soy-beans as human food has been recognized only recently in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-usefulness-of-cow-peas-and-soy-beans-as-human-food-has-been/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The most effective step that may be taken to increase the production of these crops is to enlarge the acreage devoted to them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-most-effective-step-that-may-be-taken-to-increase-the-production/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) > [The ease with which barley may be substituted directly for wheat in human food and its usefulness to replace wheat milling by-products as feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-houston/the-ease-with-which-barley-may-be-substituted-directly-for-wheat-in/) [David F. Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) [Explore all 19 David F. Houston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-houston/) ## More Agriculture quotes > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [As the first Member of Congress from western Washington to serve on the House Agriculture Committee in over 50 years, I am proud to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-larsen/as-the-first-member-of-congress-from-western-washington-to-serve-on/) [Rick Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-larsen/) > [Conventional agriculture has never succeeded in feeding the world, and it's never produced anything good to eat. For the future, we need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barber/conventional-agriculture-has-never-succeeded-in-feeding-the-world-and/) [Dan Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barber/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sara Scherr and Jeff McNeely have given us a thoughtful, sensible book about a topic of great importance to the world. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/sara-scherr-and-jeff-mcneely-have-given-us-a-thoughtful-sensible-book/) [Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/) > [People want development, modern thinking. They want to encourage and support research in agriculture and other fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/people-want-development-modern-thinking-they-want-to-encourage-and/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When politicians talk of loan waiver, they are accepting that agriculture is not economically viable. They are giving a wrong signal that farming is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-swaminathan/when-politicians-talk-of-loan-waiver-they-are-accepting-that/) [M. S. Swaminathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-swaminathan/) > [Nitrogen-based fertilizers, which came into wide use after World War II, helped prompt the agricultural revolution that has allowed the Earth to feed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/nitrogen-based-fertilizers-which-came-into-wide-use-after-world-war/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Browse all 889 Agriculture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is obvious that the greatest and most important service that is required of our agriculture under existing conditions is an enlarged production of the staple food crops.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David F. 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