GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 295 



year. We have never treated it that way until someone brought it in 

 recently. 



Mr. Granger. I understand you are going to treat it that way next 

 year. 



Mr. Andresen. I think the Secretary did a pretty good job last 

 year on the same subject. Let me say on the hog proposition, I do 

 not think you ever heard the gentleman from Minnesota state that 

 the support price was not intended to give the farmer a fau price 

 and it was a floor under agriculture. But what the Secretary said 

 on April 7 and repeated several times afterward was that he was going 

 to buy hogs within the next 60 days at the support price. The price 

 was at least $2 a hundred above the support price when he made the 

 statement. If he was trymg to bring the price down to the support 

 price so that he could carry out his desire to buy hogs, he did bring 

 about that situation, as I see it. 



Mr. White. I do not think the Secretary made any statement that 

 would be construed as predictmg the price. There have been in- 

 numerable times in history when price floors have been announced 

 and for a whole season the particular commodity remained above the 

 support price. 



Mr. Andresen. The Secretary's word carries considerable weight 

 and when he said he was going to buy hogs for the Government, it 

 it could only mean that he was going to buy them at the support 

 price which was $16.50 and $2 a hundred under the then prevailing 

 price. 



Mr. Granger. Mr. Secretarj", how can we avoid a situation like 

 we have today? In my experience, the first people who have usually 

 been hurt in declining prices have been the feeders of Uvestock, 

 They are reaUy in a tough spot now. I think the losses this year will 

 be as great for the feeders of livestock as they have ever been in history. 

 How could that be avoided under your program? Do not tell me 

 they bought them too high. I know they did but we are always 

 going to be subject to changes in price. 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Granger, if these people operate in the 

 market above a reasonable level of support I do not think there is 

 anything the Federal Government can do to help them. I have not 

 thought of any device at all. 



Mr. Granger. Not now, but certainly in a farm program it would 

 not be possible for it to get out of line lilve this, would it? 



Secretary Brannan. No, sir, for the reason that if the proposed 

 program is successful and achieves its objectives, there will be a lot 

 more animals available for feeding and there will be a greater stability 

 to the price and they will not be forced to bu}^ as high as they were 

 forced to buy last year. The reason they bought at high prices was 

 because they were buying in a highly competitive market made com- 

 petitive by the shortage of animals. 



The objective here is to get a bigger supply of animals by price 

 inducement and hope that that would carry on through their hands all 

 the way down to the consumer. 



Mr. Granger. "Wlien I was in Denver last week the question was 

 going around. How shall the Government support hogs when the time 

 comes? The commission men were asking me that question and I 

 did not have the answer to it. I do not know whether you have it 



