GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 399 



One final observation. Family-type farms need full parity income 

 on their normal, sound, full production capacity. Anything less than 

 that will have to come out of their family's standard of living. 



JSIr. Pace. Thank you very much, J\Ir. AVyum. That is a splendid 

 statement. 



We will stand recessed until 2 o'clock. 



(Whereupon, at 12 noon, the committee recessed until 2 p. m., same 

 day.) 



AFTERNOON SESSION 



Mr. Pace. The committee will come to order. 



Under the arrangements made this morning, all four of the wit- 

 nesses will be on the stand ; that is, Mr. Patton, Mr. Talbott, Mr. Steed, 

 and Mr. Wyum. 



You may answer at your choice, gentlemen, the questions asked, ac- 

 cording to who is the best qualified to reply. 



FURTHER STATEMENTS OF GLENN TALBOTT, CHAIRMAN, EXECU- 

 TIVE COMMITTEE, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION; THEODORE 

 STEED, MEMBER, ALABAMA FARMERS UNION; OBED WYUM, 

 CHAIRMAN, PROGRAM COMMITTEE, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION; 

 AND JAMES G. PATTON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION 



]Mr. Pace. Mr. Albert, do you have any questions at this time? 



Mr. Albert. I have two or three questions to ask Mr. Talbott. 



First of all, I thought it was a very fine presentation, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Talbott. I was interested in your discussion of the provision of 

 your proposed legislation under which you would treat all commodi- 

 ties alike as a means of encouraging shifts where desirable and your 

 follow-up on assistance in marketing. 



I just Avonder how practical that is when we consider the difficulties 

 that would confront the farmer who is operating on a very small 

 margin. I must say there are many of those in southern Oklahoma^ 

 where a shift in equipment would be difficult and where the farmer 

 who has been raising cotton, for example, may not be able to shift over 

 into another cash crop. Do you have any comment to make on that 

 particular phase of your recommendations? 



Mr. Talbott. Congressman Albert, as I indicated at the outset of 

 my statement this morning, we had not sought in this draft of a bill to 

 draft a sort of omnibus thing that sought to deal with every phase of 

 the agricultural problem. 



I believe I mentioned that there were many instances when credit 

 would become a very important part of the thing that needed to be 

 done in relation, particularly to the thing that you mentioned. It is 

 our conclusion, after manj^ years of study and the intensive work of 

 the last 7 or 8 months, that if all commodities were treated substan 

 tially alike in terms of any Government program we would then have 

 created the basis to make that possible within certain limitations for a 

 voluntary adjustment of production within agriculture. 



Those limitations I might list. One is the one that you have men- 

 tioned. I know there are many farmers who do not have enough land 

 for an adequate, sound, economic unit where their know-how, so to 

 speak, is limited to experience with one or two crops. There are the 



