120 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. Walker. I'nder the marketing quota he will not have any 

 exces.s acreage, and therefore no penalty corn if lie difl not exceefi the 

 15 acres of corn. 



Mr. SuTTOx. Is he eligible for pi'ice support benefits? 



Mr. Walker. No. 



Mr. Pace. I believe vou sto})ped down near the bottom of page 

 five, Mr. Walker. 



Mr. Walker. I had completed through the first few lines on page 

 six, Mr. Cliairman, and had gotten down to the subject Regulations 

 for Determining Farm Corn Acreage Allotments. 



In accordance with the criteria set forth in the act for determining 

 individual farm coi'n acreage allotments, the Secretary of Agriculture 

 prescribes regulations governing the determination of the usual 

 acreage of corn with i-espect to tillable acreage utilized and the crop- 

 rotation practices followed, and the indicated acreage of corn for the 

 farm based upon soil types and topography. 



Under these regulations definite provisions are made for instructions 

 to be followed by county and community committees in the determina- 

 tion of individual farm allotments. 



A typical illustration of such regulations may be cited from those 

 issued by the Secretary for the 1940 crop of corn. Among the essential 

 provisions of these regulations were the following: 



In determining the usual acreage of corn, two factors, tillable 

 acreage and crop rotation, are to be considered. The usual acreage 

 is determined on the basis of the average acreage of corn planted, with 

 allowances for participation in adjustment programs. 



Mr. Pace. That is where you bring in the historical base? 



Ml'. Walker. That is on the historical base. 



Mr. HoEVEN. That is over a 10-year period? 



Mr. Walker. No; the 10-year provision applies to the proration of 

 the national allotment to counties. On the farm it is 2 to 4 years. 



Mr. Hoeven. That is undei" a regulation? 



Mr. Walker. That is a regulation, yes. 



Air. Hoeven. From 2 to 4 years? 



Mr. Walker. Yes, for whatever the figure may be. If we should 

 establish an allotment for 1950, under the Secretary's regulations 

 we will probably take the years 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949 to serve 

 as the historical base period for determining the farm allotment. Now 

 it might be just 1948 and 1949, but it would be the historical acreage 

 for the base years to be used as the base in determining those two 

 factors. 



Mr. Hoeven. Who would make the determination as to what the 

 years would be? 



Mr. Walker. That would be within the discretion of the Secretary. 



Mr. Hoeven. And what would be the basis for such determination? 



Mr. Walker. I can visualize this situation, if the acreage, for in- 

 stance, were dropping fast in some area, or was going up fast in another 

 area, that he would include acreage data for a longer period hi order 

 that the shifts in cropping practic( s may be given proper (,'on-idera- 

 tion in arriving at the usual acreage. 



Mr. Hoeven. It is rather an arbitrary findi.ig? 



Mr. Walker. .Arbitrary I do not think is the exact word for it. 



Ml-. HoEVEX. It is based on some arbitrai-v findinu'? 



