158 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



it was determined that in order to keep milk within reach of most of 

 the people it would be necessary and advisable to make a payment of 

 the differential between the price which the consumer paid, and the 

 cost, plus a reasonable profit which the producer had to have in order 

 to maintain continuous production at that high level. 



To turn it around, if we had forced the price of milk up to the point 

 where it would have returned the farmer his cost of production at the 

 high cost of feed and labor, and so forth, many thousands of people, 

 or perhaps millions of people, would have been priced out of the 

 market. 



On the other hand, if we forced the farmer to sell his milk at a price 

 which was within reach of most of the population, all the farmers 

 would have gone out of business. The Government stepped in 

 between with a production payment and made up the difference and 

 the milk flowed tlu-ough the normal channels of trade. 



Senator Holland. Thank you, sir, 



Mr. Chairman, I did not really expect the Secretary to go into 

 detail now. I was simply indicating that since his recommendations 

 make it clear that perishable commodities, nonstorable commodities, 

 are to be excluded from the price-support program as such, and that 

 the two principal recommendations which he makes for them are the 

 two that I mentioned, the direct purchases and the production pay- 

 ments, I am very anxious to know just what he does have in mind, in 

 detail, with reference to production payments. 



As he states in his recommendations, that is the principal field of 

 help which he proposes to give to the perishable nonstorable commod- 

 ities which he says represents about three-fourths of the cash income 

 of the Nation. Obviously, it is a field that has not been well taken 

 care of up to now, and it is a field in which not only all people in the 

 citrus industry but the people in all of the fruit industries and the 

 vegetable industries and other nonstorable agricultural industries 

 have first concern. I am hoping that the Secretary will spell out his 

 program in some detail at the first opportunity of the chairman to call 

 a meeting of our committee Jor that purpose. 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Chairman, may I please interrupt 

 there, to say that if Mr. Holland's understanding of the first sentence 

 coincides with the understanding of anyone else in this room, namely, 

 that we have excluded all nonperishables from price supports, then I 

 shall have to go back and rewrite this statement. 



As a matter of fact, we are suggesting the further extension of price 

 support into this field. Citrus fruits do not enjoy price support today. 



Here is a device by which, within the limits of funds and authority, 

 some help might be made available. It would be a very unfortunate 

 construction, I will say to you, if it were understood that we were 

 trying to exclude citrus or any other perishable from price support. 

 That is not the interpretation of the document that we intended 

 anyone to take. 



Senator Holland. I am glad to have that statement, but I was 

 relying principally on the two paragraphs in the middle of page 20 

 of your statement, Mr. Secretary, in which you say that the non- 

 storables, products which are either highly perishable or which can 

 be stored only at heavy expense, include fruits, vegetables, meat 

 animals, and so forth. 



In the next paragraph, you say when it is necessary to apply supports 

 to any of these nonstorable commodities, you recommend that we 



