GEXERAL FARM PROGRAM 281 



The other day, in attempting to be reasonably specific, I said that 

 maybe by the production payments route we might begin to work 

 toward the area of 15 cents a quart for milk. Today I pointed out 

 to you that in some parts of the country milk is actually selling below 

 15 cents, and that the range is between 22 and 14 cents and that in a 

 major Midwest city it was 16)4 cents, if you bought it in gallons and 

 went to the store to get it. 



Mr. Andresex. The national average is around 20 cents or 21 

 cents? 



Secretary Brannan. No, the national average is not around 20 

 or 21 cents, as I understand it. The average of a number of key 

 cities was taken and on the basis of that we got the 21 cents. Is that 

 not right? 



Mr. Weles. Yes. from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 



Secretary Branxan. They took a group of large cities. 



Mr. Wells. That 21 cents is delivered in quart bottles. 



Secretary Brannax. Yes. 



Mr. Axdresen. You sav for everv cent a quart the price went down 

 it would cost S150,000,00d? 



Secretary Braxxax. Yes. 



Mr. Axdresex. That is just on the basis of the amount of milk 

 sold as fluid milk, wliich is around 35 billion jDounds, is that right? 



Secretary Braxxax. That relates to the amount of milk sold and 

 consumed as fluid milk. 



Mr. Axdresex. How would you take care of the other 65 billion 

 pounds of milk which goes into the manufactured products? 



Secretary Braxxax. Well, sir, I would hope — and I do not assure 

 3^ou that this would be true — that if we provided an active outlet for 

 one class of milk that the fact that it flow^ed oft' freel}^ would have a 

 supporting eft'ect on the other classes and on the other dairy products, 

 as a matter of fact. 



Air. Axdresex. Not on 15 cents a cpiart. 



Secretary Braxxax. Well, that is the reason we are talking about 

 production payments. 



Let me say to you the figure you used a moment ago of 21 cents was 

 milk delivered to the horne. I do not think that talking in terms of 

 15 cents in the stores in some parts of this country is an um-easonable 

 figure to talk about. Let us say it is a figure to shoot at, as an ob- 

 jective. Mavbe we cannot reach it, but it would be worth talking 

 about if we could do it. 



As you said a moment ago, it is a very important part of our diet. 



Mr. Axdresex. A good deal of these 44,000 milk drivers would 

 object very much if you had all the people going to the stores to get 

 their milk. 



Secretary- Braxxax. My proposal does not change the competitive 

 situation between the store milk and delivered milk. 



Mr. Axdresex. You can get two quarts here for 17 cents a cjuart 

 in Washington, if you go to get it, because I have bought it myself. 



Secretary Braxxax. That is right. I was not saying 15 cents 

 delivered at the door. 



Mr. Axdresex. Whatever it was, it looked good to a good many 

 consumers, who thought that they were going to get 15 cent milk the 

 next day. However, we are only producing 115 billion pounds of 

 milk, and we have 22,500,000 .mifk cows. I was trying to figure out 



