344 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. Andresen. I can tell you exactly what you have in the factory. 

 You have $149,000,000 tied up in 379,000,000 pounds of tobacco. 

 It has been in there 3 years. I just wanted to get it clear that we are 

 eliminating- that two and a half billion dollars. 



For potatoes you have estimated $225,000,000 for the present year 

 crop. You have estimated, as I recall your statements, around 

 $120,000,000 for eggs. 



Secretary Brannan. It was not that high. 



Mr. Andresen. You have stated several times that you did not 

 think the new program would cost any more than what you are paying 

 out now. Now we have eliminated the two and a half billion dollars 

 on tobacco, cotton, and grains. 



Secretary Brannan. I do not think anybody ever counted those 

 costs in the present program if they understood the program. 



Mr. Andresen. Let us just find out what your costs are on the 

 present program on perishable items. We will take the figure first of 

 $225,000,000 on potatoes. That was on the potatoes, and what was 

 the figure on eggs for last year? 



Secretary Brannan. I think the net loss was around $75,000,000 

 on eggs last year. We have some of the eggs that we bought last year. 



Mr. Andresen. Let us just figure that they are lost and we will 

 take $75,000,000 for a rough figure. Now, what else have you lost 

 money in? Are there any other items? 



Mr. PoAGE. Did you not put a lot of money in the citrus? 



Secretary Brannan. Not under the support program. 



Mr. Andresen. Your present program, then, is costing around 

 $300,000,000 for the articles which will bear a loss? 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. Let us take that for a figure. I think 

 perhaps it could be more or less than that. 



The reason you cannot say what the loss is, is because we have not 

 liquidated many of the commodities we took under loan last year. 

 If we strike them all oft' as complete losses that the Government will 

 get nothing else out of, the figm^e will be quite high. If we strike 

 them off as though the Government would recover fully, then of 

 course, the losses will be low. 



I want to point out, Mr. Andresen, that the key factor is that we 

 are in an entirely different situation looking forward than we were in 

 the situation looking backward. We were looking badkward into a 

 period of time when most of the commodities were riding above sup- 

 port and when even the commodities you took under support you 

 could find ready markets for, perhaps at some discount. We are 

 now looking into a future in which not so many of the commodities 

 are going to ride above support all the time and if you take them into 

 Government ownership you are going to have an extremely hard time 

 getting rid of them. 



Mr. Andresen. Do you think $500,000,000 would be a safe figure 

 on losses? 



Secretary Brannan. On losses under the present program? 



Mr. Andresen. Yes. 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Andresen, you have to make more as- 

 sumptions than we can begin to make this afternoon. 



Let us see what assumptions you will have to make in the case of 

 any given crop next year. First of all, you are going to have to 

 assume what the national production will be. You will know later 



