394 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



First, let me relate that I am a small farmer from northeast Ala- 

 bama where cotton is our main cash crop. 



We as farmers look to God for seasons to grow our crops. We 

 also look to our national Congress for laws to assure us a fair price 

 for our crops. 



We farmers must have laws to protect us from the shortcomings 

 in our economic system. We must have stable prices to make a living 

 and to have the necessities of life. The farmer had much fear last 

 year that the Congress would not give to us a new farm program to 

 continue some protection on prices. 



The farmers have much fear today that under the Aiken bill farm 

 prices may drop to 60 percent of so-called parity. We as farmers 

 know what that means. It means losing our homes and having our 

 families be in great need. I liave talked with hundreds of these 

 farmers and this is their feeling. These small farmers do not write 

 to the Congress very often. They have no organization to speak for 

 them. But I assure you that they are now and have been, living in 

 fear of the outcome of the farm program. 



We have now had several years' experience in farm programs, ad- 

 vocating from 92 percent of parity to as low as 40 percent of parity. 



It seems to me that we should now work for 100 percent true parity 

 income. 



I agree with the statement Mr. Pace made last Monday, that it is 

 time now to go all-out for the farmer. We farmers are confronted 

 with rising prices for what we buy and falling prices for what we sell. 



If you will pardon me for referring to my personal experience, may 

 I relate some of my experiences in the crisis in the last 12 months? 



Last year by the help of my 5 children we planted 21 acres in cotton. 

 We produced 20 bales which, with the seed, brought a gross of $3,722. 

 My expenses for growing were : fertilizer, $630 ; gas and oil for the 

 tractor, $117.42; rent, $930; plows, plow points, shop work, and other 

 incidentals, $185.95; depreciation of tractor and equipment, $300; 

 picking cotton with some hired labor, $517.50. 



My total expenses were $2,680.87, leaving me a net profit for myself 

 and my family of $1,041.15. 



Since we own our own farm, we got the rent, which was $930, mak- 

 ing our total income $1,971.15. 



That was from our chief money crop, which is cotton. This year 

 I do not know how it will be because gas on March 18, 1948, for my 

 tractor. cost me 23,3 cents per gallon. On March 25 of 1949, about 1 

 year later, tractor gas cost me 25.3 cents, or 2 cents higher than it was 

 a year ago. Everything in hardware is very high. What my profits 

 will be this year I cannot tell. We raise some corn. Our fertilizer 

 authorities tell us to have more than one cash crop so we grow some 

 corn and a few pigs on our farm. 



But just growing hogs instead of cotton does not solve the farmer's 

 income problem, as I think my experience will show on a small bunch 

 of hogs. 



Last October at our market place hogs were selling for $28.40 a 

 hundred. I had eight pigs worth a hundred dollars, at 7 weeks old. 



I put them on a dry lot of 2 acres, I fed them 100 bushels of corn, 

 which was worth $1.20 a bushel on the market. I fed them tankage 

 and other feeds at $29.80, thus making my total cost of feeding these 

 pigs and furnishing them of $249.80. 



