Heavy hog exports make for higher corn prices, and higher corn prices make for higher values in corn belt farm land. Without much question, the fundamental cause of corn land rising so much more rapidly than land in other sections is the unusual volume of pork products starting with the year 1916. It would have been impossible for the corn market to have reached or sustained its high altitude without the prop of such tremendous hog exports. In view of the evidence presented, we make bold to say that hog exports furnish a most delicate barometer of corn belt prosperity. The huge volume of pork exports during the past three years is the explanation of corn belt land rising faster than in other sections. Iowa raises twice as many hogs as any other state, and this doubtless is the reason why land in Iowa has risen faster than in any other state. [Illustration: Corn profits and losses in the twelve north central states, as determined by the ratio method described in the chapter on “Cost of Producing Crops.” ] What of the future? Is there any chance that pork exports will maintain their present volume? We may as well face the issue squarely and come to the conclusion that in all probability pork exports, within three or four years, will decline to about one-third their present volume. For four or five years previous to the war, the tendency of pork exports was somewhat downward. It is reported that at that time Great Britain was buying less and less of her hog products from the United States, and that she was thinking of buying more and more of her coarser quality of hog products from China. At the present time there is considerable Chinese bacon on the English market. It is also worth while to note in this connection that the English consumption of meat is now 1,200,000 tons, which is 600,000 tons less than her pre-war consumption of meat. If England has cut down on her meat consumption one-third, the probabilities are that the continent of Europe has cut down on its meat consumption one-half. Probably never again will the world eat as much meat per capita as it did before the war. Whether we like it or not, we may as well face the probability that our pork exports are on the decline, and will not stop declining until they are down to about one-third of the 1919 volume. And we may expect that this decline in pork exports will have some influence on corn prices, and therefore on corn land prices. The future situation is of course considerably different than that which has existed at any time during the past forty-five years. The volume of money in circulation may be such that there will be no actual decline in corn prices or in corn land prices. Just the same, we may expect that the unusually favorable position which has been enjoyed by the corn belt during the past three years will disappear with the decline in pork exports.