GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 109 



Coming noxt to county allotments 



Mr. Pace. Wait just a minute. There is notliing- in the law 

 concerning that? 



Mr. Walker. State allotments? 



Mr. Pace. Yes; you have no State allotments in the law? 



Mr. Walker. IN'o. That is due primarily to the fact that the 

 commercial area does not necessarily go along State lines. 



Mr. Pace. I see. 



Mr. Walker. That area could not be defined in terms of State 

 lines, therefore a State allotment would not have any significance. 



Mr. Pace. Very well. Does that mean that all of the county 

 allotments will be checked here in Washington, determined here in 

 Washington? 



Mr. Walker. They will first be computed here in Washington, 

 but before the allotments are made the figures are reviewed in the 

 State offices with the local jDcople. As we go through the county 

 allotment discussion, I think it will become clear. 



Mr. Pace. Then in corn, to get it clear in my own mind, you have 

 no State allotment provided for, and you have no exact formula 

 for farm allotment, no historical basis, or anything of that sort? 



Mr. Walker. The formula used for farm allotment does provide a 

 historical base. 



Mr. Pace. Contrary to law? 



Mr. Walker. No; in line with the law We will get to that in a 

 few minutes. 



Mr. Pace. All right, Mr. Walker, proceed. 



Mr. Walker. County allotments. Section 329 (a) of the act of 

 1938 provides that the acreage allotment for corn shall be appor- 

 tioned by the Secretary among the counties in the commercial corn- 

 producing area on the basis of the acreage seeded for the production 

 of corn during the 10 calendar years immediately preceding the cal- 

 endar year in which the apportionment is determined, plus, in ap- 

 plicable years, the acreage diverted under previous agricultural 

 adjustment and conservation programs, with adjustments for abnor- 

 mal weather conditions and for trends in acreage during such period 

 and for the promotion of soil conservation practices. The act further 

 provides that any downward adjustment for the promotion of soil 

 conservation practices shall not exceed 2 percent of the total acreage 

 allotment that would otherwise be made to such county. 



Mr. Pace. Pardon the interruption, but what does that last language 

 mean? 



Mr. Walker. You mean the 2 percent for conservation? 



Mr. Pace. "Any downward adjustment for the promotion of soil 

 conservation practices"; what does that mean? 



Mr. Walker. That means: That where corn land lays out, where 

 you have windstorms or sandstorms, or what not, and the land lays 

 out, or needs to be taken out of cultivation, the law provides that 

 an adjustment can be made for conservation. As we take out that 

 acreage, naturally, the county should not be given the full allotment; 

 but the law itself limits the amount of such adjustments to 2 percent. 

 That in essence is what is meant by this limitation on the downward 

 adjustment for conservation practices. 



91215— 49— pt. 1 8 



