GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 85 



Mr. Walker. It is needed to break it down to make a check against 

 the consumption safeguard. In other words, the law provides that 

 we must have available that supply of corn necessary to meet the 

 consumer-safeguard standards. 



Mr. Pace. What is the figure, if I may ask? 



Mr. Walker. On the average? 



Mr. Pace. Yes; how many bushels of corn? 



Mr. Walker. For the consumer safeguard and domestic con- 

 sumption? 



Mr. Pace. Yes. 



Mr. Walker. That is estimated now to be 2,550,000,000. 



Mr. Pace, How much? 



Mr. Walker. 2,550,000,000. 



Mr. Pace. That is the over-all domestic consumption. 



Mr. Walker. No; I want to get this straight It is the amount 

 of corn needed for livestock, dairy and poultry production for the 

 domestic consumption. The 2,550,000,000 bushels is for the 1949-50 

 marketing year. 



Mr. Pace. How much is it for the individual consumer item? 



Mr. Walker. Per individual? 



Mr. Pace. Per capita? 



Mr. Walker. The per capita consumption standard set by the 

 consumer safeguard is 14.8 bushels of corn. That is for the feed to 

 livestock, dairy, and poultry for domestic consumption. 



Mr. Pace. You mean, in considering the consumer safeguard you 

 include the corn that the person eats and you include the corn that the 

 livestock eat? 



Mr. Walker. Corn that is fed to produce livestock. 



Mr. Pace. That includes everything in the way of feed that 

 possibly results in food? 



Mr. Walker. That is right. 



Mr. Pace. Again I ask, if that reflects the total domestic consump- 

 tion, what is the need of going over all of these calculations, trying to 

 break it down into work stock, dairy cattle, hogs, and so on? 



Mr. Walker. So that an accurate check can be made against the 

 consumer safeguard. 



STATEMENT OF RUDOLPH PATZIG, ECONOMIST GRAIN BRANCH, 

 PRODUCTION AND MARKETING ADMINISTRATION 



Mr. Patzig. May T interrupt to say, Mr. Chairmon, that the need 

 for making these computations results from the legislative provi- 

 sions embodied in section 304 of tlie act of 1938, which requires a 

 check against the over-all figure to assure that the comj^uted normal 

 year's domestic consum])tion is no smaller than it was during a cer- 

 tain period. This period as has been indicated, is the period 1920 to 

 1929 — the period most favorable from the standpoint of consumers, 

 at the time the act was written. 



Mr. Pace. My question is not directed to that; my questioii is why 

 is it necessary to keep that provision in the law; what is the need of it 

 being in the law, is my question. I presume the Dc^partment would 

 take some period in making its determination, in trying to arrive at 



