16 



ought to be even higher; I don't know. But to reduce a $7 million 

 program by only $150,000 doesn't seem to me to be very important, 

 and if you can't make a living on 50,000 hens, then the assessment 

 ought not to be applied. 



I am speaking in favor of the legislation. Thank you. 



Mr. VOLKMER. Does the gentleman from Pennsylvania have any 

 questions? 



Mr. HOLDEN. No questions, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. VOLKMER. The gentleman from Ohio. 



[No response.] 



Mr. VOLKMER. Any questions. 



[No response.] 



Mr. VoLKMER. OK, thank you very much, Mr. Clayton. We appre- 

 ciate your testimony here today. We would appreciate it if you or 

 your staff would get together with my staff and that of the gentle- 

 men from Texas and Ohio to try to get this worked out on these 

 two areas right away. 



Mr. Clayton. We would be pleased to help you on that. 



Mr. VOLKMER. Thank you very much. 



Mr. Clayton. Thank you. 



Mr. VOLKMER. Our next panel, Mr. Doug Hoffer, vice president 

 of Crystal Lake/Marketing, Creighton Brothers, Warsaw, Indiana; 

 Mr. Gilbert B. EckhofF, president and CEO, Henningsen Foods, 

 Inc., Omaha, Nebraska; and Mr. Fred Adams, CEO, Cal-Maine Egg 

 Products, Jackson, Mississippi. 



Gentlemen, your statements will be made a part of the record. 

 You may either review the statement in full or summarize, how- 

 ever you so desire. We will hear from each of you in the order in 

 which you were called to the table. 



We will begin with Mr. Hoffer. 



STATEMENT OF DOUG HOFFER, CHAIRMAN, RIGHT CHOICE 



TASK FORCE 



Mr. Hoffer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the oppor- 

 tunity to appear before the subcommittee today. I am appearing on 

 behalf of the Right Choice Committee, an informal group of egg 

 producers and industry representatives who have come together in 

 order to secure approval of an amendment to the Egg Research and 

 Consumer Information Act. 



My name is Doug Hoffer. I am vice president of processing and 

 marketing for Creighton Brothers, which is a diversified farming 

 operation located near Warsaw, Indiana. 



The proposed amendment would permit the industry to vote to 

 increase the assessment for the American Egg Board, and would 

 exempt producers with less than 50,000 laying hens from the as- 

 sessment. 



Mr. Chairman, I am proud to have been a part of the egg indus- 

 try for three decades and to have been a supporter of the industry's 

 effort to improve acceptance of and demand for its product during 

 my career. I believe that agricultural producers must aggressively 

 improve their ability to market their products, as well as their pro- 

 duction ability, if they are to remain competitive. 



The Egg Research and Consumer Information Act, which author- 

 izes the American Egg Board and which this legislation, H.R. 1637, 



