Files
Abstract
The study reported here is part of a research project, under the Research and Marketing
Act of 1946, entitled Anticipating Year-to-Year Changes in Market Supplies Due to
Changes in Yields Per Acre. One of the purposes is to learn whether the available records
on crop yields per acre contain variations from year to year, or patterns of variations over
periods of years, that might be usable in anticipating changes in per acre yields for a year
or more in advance. Louis H. Bean here restates his views on the evidence of trends and
patterns in crop yields and weather and as a first step in determining the reality of such
trends and patterns, Richard J. Foote reports on the application of selected statistical tests
to the fluctuations in corn yields and in a constructed series, concluding with a suggestion,
for a more appropriate statistical test.