170 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



In other words, all the controls, acreage allotments, marketing 

 quotas, marketing agreements, soil-conservation provisions and other 

 provisions of existing law, you think, should be retained? 



Secretary Brannan. I do, sir. 



The Chairman. On the question of providing support prices, you 

 are not recommending the support of unlimited production of any 

 particular agricultural commodity, are you? 



Secretary Brannan. No, sir. 



The Chairman. Your recommendations are that you be permitted 

 to support prices only when the producers of particular commodities 

 accept the controls which Congress has authorized you to impose under 

 certain circumstances? 



Secretary Brannan. And which their fellow farmers will have 

 voted, as in the case of tobacco, peanuts and so on. 



The Chairman. In the basic commodities, two-thirds of the farm- 

 ers would have to vote favorably before you could impose the market- 

 ing quotas? 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. If I remember correctly, some 

 95 percent or better voted for the last marketing quota in tobacco. 



The Chairman. You realize, I am sure, that on every occasion 

 when the Government lias undertaken to support unlimited production 

 we have always come to great grief and we have spent a lot of money, 

 as we are now domg in potatoes? 



Secretary Brannan. That is correct, sir. 



The Chairman. There is nothing in your statement that would in- 

 dicate that you are in favor of supporting unlimited production of any 

 commodity? 



Secretary Brannan. That is correct, sir. 



The Chairman. You were asked the question: How much would 

 the program cost? Am I correct in assuming that it is not possible to 

 determine the cost of the program because the cost would depend upon 

 the accuracy of your estimates and your estimates would depend upon 

 numerous uncertain factors, including natural disasters on the one 

 hand, or very favorable and extraordinarily good growing weather on 

 the other hand? 



Secretary Brannan. That is correct, Mr. Chau-man. 



The Chairman. But it would be your purpose to fix the goals for 

 production, having in mind the law of supply and demand and abund- 

 ant production but not a surplus production? 



Secretary Brannan. That, in my opinion, would be the objective 

 of the program. 



The Chairman. And inider no cucumstances would you undertake 

 a program which could possibly be called a scarcity program? 



Secretary Brannan. No, sii-. 



The Chairman. In other words, you feel that agriculture should 

 produce adequately for the consumer but that agriculture should not 

 produce a surplus which was going to depress and destroy prices and 

 demoralize farmers of the Nation? 



Secretary Brannan. Or waste resources of production. There is a 

 level below which, in the price market, an overproduction should not 

 force prices to fall. 



The Chairman. In answer to the question, "Wliat will this program 

 cost?" you are in no better position to say with accuracy what the 

 program would cost than you would be to tell what the present pro- 

 gram will cost? 



