GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 629 



Mr. Pace. You may go ahead and discuss the subject mformally. 



Mr. Kaseberg. I do not know where these gentlemen are from, 

 but I would like to just give a very short description of our wheat- 

 growing area out there. 



Mr. Hope. Mr. Chairman, might I suggest that this is Mr. Hoeven 

 from Iowa and Mr. White from California, and you gentlemen know 

 I am from Kansas. 



Mr. Kaseberg. Yes; we are acquainted with Mr. Hope. 



Mr. Hope. Mr. Sutton from Tennessee is just coming in. 



Mr. Kaseberg. Our area is in a rainfall belt of about 8 to 16 inches 

 of rainfall. That includes about 75 percent of our wheat-growing area. 

 There is a fringe along the mountains that has a higher rainfall, and 

 they have some diversification of crops, namely, peas or grass seeds. 



This larger area that I speak of is totally wheat and summer fallow. 

 We have to conserve 2 years of moisture to raise one crop. Because 

 of the fact that we do not have substitute crops, we are much inclined 

 toward a full production program. We have a program that has been 

 talked over among the groups and worked out by the Northwest Farm 

 Council, which is composed of the wheat leagues of Washington, 

 Idaho, and Oregon. It also has the endorsement of the States of 

 Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. This program is the 

 two-price plan. 



Mr. Pace. Before you get into that, if I might ask a question, have 

 you had a series of meetings among the growers of several States? 



Mr. Kaseberg. Since 1945 we have had two to three meetings 

 annually. 



Mr. Pace. And this program has been gradually developed, and 

 you now propose to recommend it? 



Mr. Kaseberg. Yes. 



Mr. Pace. All right, go ahead. 



Mr. Kaseberg. The plan embodies full parity for the wheat crop 

 used for domestic human and food consumption in the United States. 

 The second part of it is that the balance of the wheat crop is to move 

 into export, feed, and industrial markets at competitive prices and 

 the use of production controls only when wheat stocks become larger 

 than permitted by the international wheat agreement. I am not 

 speaking of the current agreement, but the agreement when they had 

 these economic wheat conferences and set up certain reserves for the 

 various producing countries. 



Mr. Sutton. Are you speaking of the world competitive prices or 

 in the States? 



Mr. Kaseberg. Mostly world, because our surpluses must move 

 into export. 



Mr. Pace. Let me look at that a minute. Your recommendation 

 is that there be 100 percent parity support? Is that right? 



Mr. Kaseberg. That is right. 



Mr. Pace. On the human consumption part, which over the last 

 30 years has held steadily at approximately 500,000,000 bushels. 

 Mr. Kaseberg. That is right. 



Mr. Pace. It is a little difficult to understand why 30 years ago 

 we were consuming about 500,000,000 bushels of wheat for food and 

 last year we consumed about 500,000,000 bushels of wheat for food. 



