PREFACE JACK HAYES Yearbook Editor OUR VAST shopping system tends to overawe us with its fabulous array of goods. It gives us a wide variety that stretches beyond our family budgets. We all need to be selective about what we buy. This book should help us size up a wide variety of products and services realistically, so we can get the most for our money. The authors for the most part are from the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State land grant universities and colleges, and they draw heavily on Federal and State research. Other authors are with Federal agencies outside USDA, with associations, and from the magazine field. The expertise of the authors is, of course, what makes the book valuable for the reader. Besides the authors, many more people contributed to the book, and only a few can be mentioned in this Preface. The book was produced and printed by the Government Printing Office (GPO). Type was set by a private contractor. Overall book production was designed by Dudley Kruhm of the Typography and Design Section, GPO, under the direction of Robert McKendry, Superintendent. Howard Behrens of the same Section created the cover. Paul W. Wertz, Chief of the Printing Branch, Office of Communication, USDA, served as production coordina tor. Members of the Yearbook staff are Mary Vest, who did the Index, and Denver Browning. Ruth Leverton, Agricultural Research Service, was chairman of the 1974 Yearbook Committee that planned this book. She now is retired. Helen Souders, Agricultural Research Service, was vice chairman. Other Committee members were: Albert Arnst, Forest Service Sara Beck, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Earl Bell, Farmers Home Administration Ray Brush, American Association of Nurserymen William Cox, Extension Service John Creech, Agricultural Research Service Eleanor Ferris, Agricultural Marketing Service Paul Halnon, Agricultural Marketing Service Evelyn Johnson, Extension Service Roger Lawson, Agricultural Research Service Virginia Mewis, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Grace Ostenso, Food and Nutrition Service Louise Page, Agricultural Research Service Dean Quinney, Forest Service Paul Schleusener, Cooperative State Research Service Martin Schubkegel, Economic Research Service Eileen Taylor, Economic Research Service Bonnie Whyte, Food and Nutrition Service David Wright, National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior |