894 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



able study last week. The board of directors and representatives of 

 members associations of our federation held a joint meeting on the 

 28th, following a rather lengthy session of the executive committee of 

 the federation, and they gave careful consideration to the current 

 position of the dairy industry under existing legislation and other 

 proposals for general farm legislation as it affects dairy farmers. 



Mr. HoEVEN. May I ask, before you get away from that, how you 

 account for the $612,000,000 loss? 



Mr. HoLMAN. Point 1 : during the first quarter of 1949, the United 

 States farm price on butterfat was 64.4 cents per pound compared 

 with 84.3 cents a pound for the first quarter of 1948. During 1948,. 

 dairy farmers sold 742,000,000 pounds of butterfat to plants and 

 dealers. On the basis of the 1948 butterfat sales and prices received, 

 in the first quarter of 1949 the income from the sales of butterfat 

 this year will decline $147,000,000. 



Point 2: during the first quarter of 1949, the farm price of milk 

 sold wholesale declined 67 cents per hundredweight over the first 

 quarter of 1948 average price of milk sold wholesale. Dming 1948, 

 the farmers sold 695,000,000 hundredweight of milk to plants and 

 dealers. On the basis of the 1948 sales of milk from farms and prices 

 received, in the first quarter of 1949 producers' gross cash returns 

 from the sale of milk this year will decline $465,000,000. 



These computations were made by our economics department 

 headed by Mr. Reed, and I believe they are reasonably accurate. 



Mr. Andresen. Are you referring there just to fluid milk? 



Mr. HoLMAN. Both — to sales of butterfat from the farms and the 

 sales of whole milk from the farms. 



Mr. Andresen. And they show losses of approximately half a 

 billion dollars by making a comparison between 1948 and 1949? 



Mr. HoLMAN. About $612,000,000. 



Mr. Pace. You may proceed, Mr. Holman. 



Mr. Holman. My name is Charles W. Holman. I am secretary 

 of the National Cooperative Milk Producers Federation with head- 

 quarters at 1731 Eye Street NW., in this city. I would like to file at 

 this point a list of our national directors, all of whom are farmers or 

 their employees, and a list of our present member associations. 



The National Cooperative Milk Producers Federation has 86 mem- 

 ber associations and some of these organizations are federations. All 

 of these cooperatives are farmer owned and farmer controlled. The 

 farmer members of these associations comprise approximately 425,000 

 farm families residing in 47 States. 



Last year these organizations which the farmers own marketed a 

 little over 19 percent of all the milk and separated cream that left 

 the farms in the United States. I am here to testify with respect to- 

 the general farm program and the position of the federation as ex- 

 pressed by its board of directors on April 28, 1949. The board of 

 directors and representatives of member associations of the National 

 Cooperative Milk Producers Federation at a joint meeting in Wash- 

 ington, D. C, April 28, 1949, carefully considered the current position 

 of the dairy industry under existing legislation, and other proposals 

 for general farm legislation as it affects dairy farmers. The resolution 

 is as follows: 



In considering the problems confronting the dairy farmers at the beginning of 

 this flush season, your executive committee has given serious consideration to the 

 various methods by vv^hich relief can be aflorded dairy farmers under the free: 



