282 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



the other day just about how long it would take to get up to 150 

 bilHon pounds, and I came to the conckision that we had to have 

 7,000,000 more milk cows and it would take from 7 to 10 years to 

 produce the milk cows to produce enough milk to give us 15-cent milk. 



Secretary Brannan. I think that is right, but still it is worth 

 working toward. 



Mr. Andresen. Surely. I am for it. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. 



Mr. Andresen. I think in a lot of the areas of the country where 

 they do not have cows now that they should have some good milk 

 cows. It would be better for them, it would be better for their land, 

 and it would be better for the country. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. 



Mr. Andresen. I do not think, without having the milk cows on 

 hand, that we should hold out a hope to the people that they are 

 going to get 15-cent milk at their door, when it will take from 7 to 

 10 years to have enough cows to produce the milk. 



I am not saying this in criticism of your statement, because I am 

 in agreement with your goal. 



Secretary Brannan. You know the dairy business very well, and 

 it may be that it would take 7 to 10 years to get that many cows and 

 get that much increase ii^ milk production. Maybe you could achieve 

 a price in the area of 15 cents without getting that maximum produc- 

 tion. There are a lot of factors which go into making up how the 

 price could be achieved. 



Mr. Andresen. Well, during the time we would be producing 

 those 7 million milk cows there would be less meat for the market 

 because 40 percent of the meat now comes from the dairy farms of the 

 country. There would be a pinch in some way. 



Secretary Brannan. There might be. On the other hand, we might 

 be able to put on a very intensive dairy animal increase program. 



Mr. Andresen. Well, if you have all the calves born as heifers I 

 think you could, but that is a pretty hard thing to change. 



Secretary Brannan. I do not say we can do it, but we have some 

 scientists at Beltsville who will come pretty close to it, if we give 

 them the job to do. 



Mr. Andresen. I do not know. I was out there on Good Friday, 

 and I had a very nice visit with them. 



Secretary Brannan. They are a great group of human beings. 



Mr. Andresen. They are doing some fine work. Off the record. 



(Discussion off the record.) 



Getting back to this briefly, you suggested a figure of $4.22 as the 

 support payment price for milk. That is on a national average, as I 

 understand it. 



Secretary Brannan. Right, sir. 



Mr. Andresen. Now, the men in your dairy division tell me that 

 for the month of February the national average was $4.21 or $4.20, 

 just very close to that $4.22. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Andresen. But with the national average being $4.22 for 3.9 

 milk, the price to the dairy farmer out in the Midwest was $2.85 for 

 3.9 milk. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes; and I think we ought to do something 

 about it. 



Mr. Andresen. $2.40 for 3.5 and $2.85 for the 3.9 milk. 



