GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 307 



livestock for the market place. If we are successful in doing that, 

 then we will not have to be talking about acreage limitations on corn. 



Mr. Abernethy. That would take some period of years to work 

 out. A man cannot immediately convert from cotton to cattle in a 

 year's time. 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. 



Mr. Abernethy. A moment ago you stated that there would be 

 no limitation on the amount of cattle which a man could raise. Under 

 your proposal would that apply to all the commodities and farm 

 products which you have listed — 10 of them, I believe? 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Abernethy, as far as the unit limitation is 

 concerned, the unit limitation does not affect what he can raise. 

 It affects only what he can market with support. 



It does not even affect what he can raise and market, but it affects 

 what he can raise and market with support. There are limitations in 

 the law today which we say should be retained which would limit 

 the production of some commodities and those are the marketing 

 agreements and acreage limitations such as you do have today in 

 tobacco and peanuts and such as the Congress has authorized us to 

 get ready to apply in cotton, corn and wheat. 



Mr. Abernethy. Just to the west of my District is the so-caUed 

 plantation country where they often raise several thousand bales of 

 cotton per farm. 



Of course, as you loiow, their cotton is produced on small farms 

 within the farm. There is a tenant here and a share-cropper there. 

 Would your proposed unit limitation apply to the small farm within 

 the large farm or the man who owns the large plantation farm? 

 Would the same amount of units be available to each individual farmer 

 on the farm? 



Secretary Brannan. We did not attempt to spell it out in all of 

 that detail but we recognized that there would have to be account 

 taken of the fact that there were legitimate tenants operating farms. 



Mr. Abernethy. If it did not, it would practically destroy the 

 cotton industry, I am afraid, in Mississippi. If they are limited to 

 184 bales that would drive thousands of tenant families who live on 

 plantation farms into something else. 



Secretary Brannan. You will remember, Mr. Abernethy, many 

 of these kinds of problems were discussed and some rules established 

 in connection with the payment of conservation program payments. 



At one time they were unlimited and then they began to cut them 

 down. When they began to cut them down to so much per farm they 

 got into the problem of defining farms. I am sorry I do not know aU 

 the definitions that were applicable in that case and I do not say that 

 all of them would be applicable in the unit limitation recommendations. 



The Chairman. Mr. Abernethy, will you ^aeld right there? 



Mr. Abernethy. Yes. 



The Chairman. Is it not a fact, Mr. Secretary, that you have 

 already stated that everything indicated that cotton would be under 

 marketing quotas next year and in the event that cotton is under 

 marketing quotas, under no circumstances would the ISO-unit apply? 

 If that is true, then, this question becomes academic. 



Mr. Abernethy. Wliile I am not ready to subscribe to it, I am- 

 now of the opinion that a two-price system probably embodies the 

 least regulation that could be imposed on cotton. The cotton farmer's 



