432 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Then the oflSicers and the board of directors do their best to carry 

 out the policies of the organization. 



With that much, we can turn over to the middle of the second page 

 of my prepared statement which concerns the basis of farm prosperity. 



General prosperity is essential to a successful agricultural program. 

 High production per man in the rest of the economy and a well-dis- 

 tributed real income are of the utmost importance to farmers. This 

 furnishes the goods for which farmers trade, and purchasing power 

 to our customers. Farm surpluses over the years have always been 

 surpluses in relation to effective demand, and not surpluses in the 

 absolute sense of the word. 



High production per man is also of vital importance in securing a 

 high per capita income to farmers. To say it another way — all that 

 a farmer can expect to get over the long pull is what he earns. He 

 has two great jobs to get done. One is to earn. This also necessitates 

 protection of the right to earn. The other is to get what he earns. 

 Here, let us also note that a prosperous and productive agriculture is 

 necessary for general prosperity. They are interdependent. 



At the same time, we are not going to do well in this country unless 

 the international situation makes it possible. The idea that somehow 

 you can build a fence around the United States and let the rest of the 

 world go by can hardly survive two world wars in one generation. 

 There is no truth in it. 



If we are to have a prosperous economy, of which a prosperous 

 agriculture is an integral part, we need desperately to do these things : 



(1) Work out and effectuate the means to a more stable general price 

 level. This can and must be done. 



(2) Foster policies which will stimulate the maintenance of a full 

 employment economy. 



(3) Promote international trade consistent with peace and 

 prosperity. 



While these things are of the utmost importance, they leave a gap 

 which is filled by what we ordinarily refer to as the farm program. 

 Actually, the farm program includes much more than a farm-price 

 policy. In addition to things already enumerated, it includes research, 

 education, farm credit, rural electrification, soil conservation, rural 

 roads, hospitals, and many other things necessary for satisfactory 

 farm living. 



A farm program becomes a necessity because farm production is 

 relatively stable year in and year out; whereas farm prices tend to 

 fluctuate widely. In contrast, in a highly organized industrial econ- 

 omy, industrial prices and wage rates tend to remain relatively sta- 

 ble, whereas production and employment levels fluctuate. 



It is a fact that farm prices go up faster and further than the gen- 

 eral price level, and drop faster and further than the general price 

 level. This condition makes farming especially vulnerable to swings 

 in the business cycle. 



Food and fiber, including the soil that makes this production pos- 

 sible, are important to everyone. The historic stabilitv of farm pro- 

 duction in the United States has caused many people complacently 

 to ignore this fact. There is no country in the world where consumers 

 have more assurance that there will be adequate food and fiber avail- 

 able than is the case in the United States, 



