604 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. PoAGE. And I think certainly that the soil-conservation districts 

 can be of great help in working that out. 



Mr. Pace. Will the gentleman yield ? 



Mr. PoAGE. Yes. 



Mr. Pace. The example on page 2 of your statement uses this 

 language : 



Stated another way, many of this generation of farmers probably will prefer 

 maximum security even with a delay in progress, whereas succeeding generations 

 will benefit most by having emphasis placed on needed adjustments now. 



Now do you know of anything, if they were to speak, that the suc- 

 ceeding generation would be more interested in than the preservation 

 of the fertility of the soil ? 



Mr. Davis. No ; I think they would be as much interested in that as 

 anvthing else. 



Mr. Pace. Certainly they would be more interested than they would 

 be on a support price to secure production. 



I tell you that I am constantly suffering from commingled prob- 

 lems in trying to solve this identical question. I do not like controls 

 any more than you or anybody else, but certainly our soil and its fer- 

 tility is our greatest and most precious natural resource, and if in the 

 next 100 years we should go along as we have in the past 100 years then 

 we will not have it possibly. 



Now I do not consider, myself, so much activity on the part of the 

 county committees as regimentation. I know that in my own section 

 the county committees are generally made up of constructive, level- 

 headed farmers, who understand the problems of the farmers. And, 

 I have often wondered if it is not possible for the Congress to set out 

 a few fundamentals of soil conservation and soil buildings, write them 

 into the law, and then say that if the farmer does not do whatever in 

 its discretion Congress should determine, in conforming to these fun- 

 damentals, at least to the extent of preserving the fertility of the soil, 

 that they shall not be entitled to receive at the hands of the Government 

 any cash payment. 



Mr. DA^^:s. I would certainly agree with you on the statement about 

 soil conservation, and I would agree with you as to the importance 

 of having these various programs of soil conservation, price support, 

 and what not, all moving in the same direction. I think there has 

 to be some kind of synchronization in order that they will all move 

 in the same direction, and I wonder if maybe Mr. Poage's suggestion 

 would not be at least a partial answer to your question. You would 

 leave the soil conservation, as much as possible, up to the local dis- 

 tricts, but you could require a certification that the farmer is taking 

 care of his soil in order for him to participate in the conservation 

 benefits. I think that deserves stud3\ 



Mr. Albert. Will the gentleman yield ? 



Mr. PoAGE. Certainly. 



Mr. Albert. Would the soil-conservation district also be entitled 

 to say whether he was to participate in the soil-conservation payments 

 from the triple A? It does not have that authority now. 



Mr. Davis. No. It looks to me like that if the soil-conservation 

 districts were properly constituted tliat that is where the authority 

 should be vested. 



Mr. Pace. Who is going to decide those actions where they have 

 failed or refused to form soil-conservation districts? 



