178 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



the market place but the difference between the average seUing price 

 of all farmers in the market place over a given period of time, either 

 the year or the marketing season and the minimum support level. 



He gets the difference between that from the Government. 



Mr. Andresen. On how many hogs or what weight? If a man 

 had 100 250-pound hogs to sell, and he should receive $19 a hundred 

 for them and he only gets $14, would he get that compensatory 

 payment form the Government on all of his 100 hogs? 



Secretary Brannan. That is correct, on all of them. 



Mr. Andresen. Suppose he had 2,000? 



Secretary Brannan. If you are now setting aside the recommenda- 

 tion about units. 



Mr. Andresen. No; I am not setting anything aside. 



Secretary Brannan. He w^ould get it on as much of his hog sales 

 in the market as came within whatever unit limitation the Congress 

 authorized. 



Mr. Andresen. You recommended 1,800 units. 



Secretary Brannan. If the Congress adopted that, there would be 

 a cut-oft" period beyond which he would not get a support price in 

 the market. 



Mr. Andresen. Then if a farmer is engaged in raising some hogs, 

 some beef cattle, has dairy cows and raises some potatoes and poultry, 

 as they do up in our section of the country, he would not be able to 

 secure this production payment on a great deal of any one individual 

 commodity? 



Secretary Brannan. Well, Mr. Andresen, he would be able to sell 

 in the composite approximately $25,000 a year of produce from his 

 farm with that figure run out at the prevailing prices. 



I do not contend for that figure or for any other figure. As a matter 

 of fact, if I were in the farming business I would try to be as big a 

 farmer as I could be. 



Mr. Andresen. And still get your check? 



Secretary Brannan. No. But I come to you today, gentlemen, to 

 say that if we are interested in retaining a rural community we cannot 

 talk about the price-support program, which is the crux of all farm 

 programs, without taking that matter into account. 



I am not against big farms in any way, shape or form, but I do 

 raise the question for consideration of this committee and of the 

 Congress, as to whether or not price-support programs should so 

 operate as to encourage the bigger and bigger farm and the concen- 

 tration of land in fewer hands. 



That is the purpose of raising this point for you. I am not going 

 to sit here and make a great family-farm speech, but I am saying to 

 you that if we are interested in the family-farm principle we should 

 look at that every time we put in a major farm program. 



That is all I am suggesting that you people do today. 



Mr. Andresen. You do not need to try to sell this committee on the 

 idea of a family-sized farm. We are all for that. 



Secretary Brannan. And we have all been for it for about 20 years 

 and nothing has been done a})out it except the Farm Security Admin- 

 istration program for a little while. 



Mr. Andresen. The average family-sized farm does not sell farm 

 ^oducts up to $25,000? 



