440 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



RECOMMENDATION NO. 6 



We fjiYor the enactment of legislation to extend the provisions of 

 the Agricultural Marketing Agreements Act of 1937 to all commodi- 

 ties for which producers can demonstrate the feasibility of. and the 

 need for, this type of program. 



RECOMMENDATION NO. 7 



We urge an amendment to the parity formula provisions of the 

 act to require that the subsidy payments made to farmers to hold down 

 prices to consumers during the war period shall be included as a part 

 of the prices received by farmers in the computation of parity prices 

 under the 10-year moving average formula. 



RECOMMENDATION NO. 8 



We favor an amendment to section 302 (c) of the Agricultural Aa- 

 justment Act of 1938, as amended by section 202 (a) of the Agricul- 

 tural Act of 1948, to eliminate the requirement that the Secretary of 

 Agriculture must support all classes of poultry at the same percentage 

 of parity whenever he undertakes to support either chickens or tur- 

 keys. The present provision of the law unduly restricts the ability of 

 the Secretary to adjust price-supj)ort operations to the different condi- 

 tions that may prevail within the various classes of poultry at any 

 given time. 



RECOMMENDATION NO. 9 



We recommend that Congress authorize and direct the Secretary of 

 Agriculture to follow the provisions of title II of the Agricultural Act 

 of 1948 in making determinations relative to marketing quotas and 

 acreage allotni'Mits on 1950 crops where such determinations must be 

 made prior to January 1, 1950, notwithstanding the fact that this title 

 does not become effective until that date. The need for this action is 

 illustrated by the fact that the Secretary must determine the need for 

 acreage allotments and marketing quotas on the 1950 Avheat crop within 

 a fevv' weeks. 



We have already presented to this committee our recommendations 

 with regard to necessary revisions in the law to make possible the 

 proper functioning of acreage allotments on cotton. We are plan- 

 ning to make some specific i-ecommendations to the committee with 

 regard to how we believe the provisions of the law with regard to 

 acreage allotments and marketing quotas on other crops might operate 

 with less difficulty than would be the case under the existing law. 



A proposal has been made recently to this committee by the Sec- 

 retary of Aginculture. So far it is a statement of politico-economic 

 philosophy — not a farm program. 



The following are among the more obvious objections to the 

 proposal : 



1. The parity price approach to a fair exchange value for farm 

 commodities is discarded. This concept has been the basis for agri- 

 cultural unity for the last 20 years. 



2. It repeals, in effect, the philosophy of fair farm prices in the 

 market place which is contained in the Agricultural Adjustment Act 

 of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1948. 



