Farmers Speak on AAA 



(Continued from page 18) 



prices of livestock is due to the discour- 

 aging prices of 1932, 1933, and early 

 1934 when farmers lost money by feed- 

 ing hogs and cattle. 



The ultimate aim of any constructive 

 tarm program is to straighten out the 

 peaks and valleys in farm production 

 and prices. This is the goal of the AAA. 

 Because weather and rainfall cannot be 

 controlled is no reason for failing to 

 make an effort in this direction. 



The corn-hog administration will go to 

 work on the 1936 prog^ram as soon as 

 approval has been given by the growers. 

 Some corn-hog committeemen believe 

 that there will be little or no control 

 over the number of hogs raised next year, 

 that only corn acreage will be adjusted. 



Obviously the government will not 

 make a substantial loan on corn or any 

 other grain without a control program. 



The Ever-Normal Granary Plan under 

 which a surplus for storage would be 

 produced before acreage reduction went 

 into effect, many believe is the ultimate 

 solution to the farm surplus question. 

 Looking ahead several years it seems 

 clear that a simplified program more 

 easily administered can and will be de- 

 veloped. 



No better program than the single 

 contract per farm with adjustment only 

 m the acreage of cultivated land, has 

 yet been offered. Such a plan contem- 

 plates allowing each farmer to grow 

 anything he pleases on his allotment of 

 cultivated acres. But he would be re- 

 quired to maintain a definite acreage of 

 grass or legume crops for pasture and 

 soil improvement. Definite changes must 

 be made in the law to initiate such a 

 plan, and until this is accomplished 

 thinking farmers are going ahead with 

 f>resent crop adjustment programs. 



Speaking of the so-called high cost of 

 tood to which the big" city dailies have 

 given so much attention, a recent survey 

 by L. H. Bean, AAA economist, dis- 

 closed that the employed factory worker 

 has been able to buy as much food dur- 

 ing every year of the depression, includ- 

 ing 1933, 1934 and 1935, as he could in 

 1928. Earnings for employed workers 

 advanced nearly 38 per cent from March 



1933 to August 1935. Food prices also 

 advanced 38 per cent. Food prices used 

 in the study are those of the Bureau of 

 Labor statistics and include relatively 

 high prices of meats due largely to the 



1934 drouth as well as to relatively low 

 prices of fruits, vegetables, dairy prod- 

 ucts and other foods. 



Economist Bean said: "As far as the 

 employed factory worker is concerned 

 we now have a fair balance between 

 earnings, food prices and non-food liv- 



ing costs. The real problem is with the 

 unemployed, how to give them perma- 

 nent employment, and earnings enough 

 to restore their former standard of liv- 

 ing." The solution to that problem lies 

 largely in the restoration of foreign 

 trade and with it a further expansion of 

 production and buying power of Amer- 

 ican farmers. — Editor. 



With Our County 

 Farm Bureau Presidents 



Safety News 



(Continued from page 21 ) 

 Serious as this problem is, each town 

 or county has the power to greatly re- 

 duce accidents caused by this type of 

 driver through the exercise of the most 

 powerful weapon in the world — ridicule. 

 The fact that some of our "best citizens" 

 have accidents and would necessarily be 

 .subjected to any campaign of derision 

 that might be directed toward the "re- 

 peater," should not slow up or stop the 

 campaign. Any one repeatedly having 

 accidents or arrests for traffic violations 

 is not only a potential criminal, but is 

 trenuinely anti-social. 



To date, society has not only over- 

 looked this fact, but has actually con- 

 doned the reckless driver by publicizing 

 his exploits, even while he made other 

 people suffer. At the moment that pub- 

 lic opinion in any locality takes a firm 

 stand on this question, by labeling the 

 wilfully careless car operator the men- 

 tal adolescent that he is, from that mo- 

 ment will the community become a safer 

 place in which to live. 



I. A. A. Aids Member in 



Getting Electric Service 



The L A. A. Transportation division 

 was recently helpful in securing an elec- 

 tric line extension for Stanley L. Church 

 of McHenry county. 



Mr. Church and a neighbor were lo- 

 cated within a mile of a 6900 volt line 

 to the south. Five other farms were 

 located a little more than a mile from 

 a 4,000 volt line coming from the north. 

 Church and his neighbor live on a cross- 

 road half way between the two groups. 

 When the lines were extended from the 

 north and south the Church farm was 

 left a little more than a mile away. The 

 company informed Church and his neigh- 

 bor that they would have to pay ?500 

 for the line extension. 



The I. A. A. contended that all 10 

 farmers involved in the extensions should 

 be considered as a group and the total 

 cost allocated over the entire line on the 

 basis of $600 per customer. 



After negotiations with the company, 

 the line was extended. Mr. Church 

 wrote: "The line has been completed 

 and we were given service on June 

 23 after considerable delay. Without 

 your service I am sure we would have 

 been unable to get the line." 



Ladies and gentlemen — meet Mr. 

 Kueker — Theodore Kueker of Jackson 

 county who says he is "just a plain, 

 every day farmer." That's what Mr. 

 Kueker thinks. He's like that. Doesn't 

 overrate himself, which means that 

 he's a whale of a lot better than he 

 thinks he is. Being a county Farm 

 Bureau president has placed him 

 somewhat in the limelight. At first he 

 says, "I was scared to death. When 1 

 thought about what I had to do, the 

 decisions I had to make and all that, 

 1 wanted to cut and run. But the boys 

 worked with me and all I can say is 

 that I've done the best I could." 



The fact is, that Theodore Kueker' s 

 "best" was mighty good, as every one 

 in Jackson county will tell you. For 

 one thing he is a real farmer. H'S 

 110 acre stock and grain farm is right 

 up to the minute. He belongs to the 

 Dairy Herd Improvement Association 

 and sends the milk from his herd of 

 18 registered Guernsey milk cows to 

 the Sanitary Milk Producers in St. 

 Louis. Kueker has been president of 

 the Jackson Farm Bureau for 2 years 

 and has been on the board 4 years. 

 He is also a director of the Jackson 

 County Soil Erosion Committee and 

 its treasurer. 



Theodore Kueker was born in Perry 

 county on a 300 acre farm 51 years 

 ago. He came to Jackson county 26 

 years ago and bought the land he now 

 farms. There is a touch of romanc-.- 

 in the fact that the young Theodore 

 Kueker wooed the fair Anna Sicke- 

 meyer and then settled on land only 

 a stone's throw from the Sickeraeyer 

 home. They were married 26 years 

 ago and have two children. Norma, 

 age 2.5 and Helen, 13. Both the girls 

 are at home. 



The Kuekers are Farm Bureau 

 boosters from the word go. Only 

 Service Company products are used. 

 His house is painted with Soyoil Paint, 

 and "would you know it, it only took 

 10 gallons. It's the nicest paint to 

 work with I ever used." His car is 

 insured in the Farm Bureau company. 

 He and his daughter Helen have pol- 

 icies in Country Life. 



Mr. Kueker's greatest interest is 

 (Continued on page 25) 



24 



I. A. A. RECORD 



