GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 903 



Association of Zumbrota. I am also president of the Minnesota 

 Creameries Association, representing a membership of 356 creameries 

 and dairy plants, serving approximately 75,000 dairy farmers in our 

 State. 



The creamery which I and 322 other farmers own cooperatively 

 processes 1,000,000 pounds of butterfat annually into butter and 

 cheese. It operates most effectively when it is operating somewhat 

 near its rated capacity — a situation in which it in no wise dift'ers from 

 thousands of other moderate and small sized dairy plants and, for 

 that matter, from 3}^ million commercial dairy farmers. 



We are sincerely concerned lest low prices place us in an unfavor- 

 able competitive position which will cause many of our farmers to 

 sell their cows to the butcher — and may I add that some are already 

 going — and go into other lines of farming. This is just what happens 

 when farmers get discouraged. 



The dairy farmer is very much dissatisfied with the announced 

 program of price support of milk and its products. Under the pro- 

 cedure of the United States Department of Agriculture, no distinction 

 is made between bottled milk and milk used for manufacturing pur- 

 poses, with the result that the producer of milk for manufacturing 

 purposes finds that there is no adequate support program for him, 

 even though the price he receives is below parity. 



A decline of one-third in price of the goods which the farmer sells 

 while there is little decline in the cost of what he has to pay for 

 equipment and labor leaves him wondering what is going to happen 

 and confuses him in his planning for the future. 



We do not believe that the answer is to lower the prices of the 

 market milk producer, for he has problems of his own, but, rather, to 

 correlate prices and those of the producer of manufacturing milk. 



If we of the manufacturing milk areas do not receive aid of this 

 kind, it is going to aft'ect the prices of all dairy products, including 

 table milk, for there must be a backlog to offset the uneven flow of 

 milk production, and to provide this, the manufacturing milk producer 

 must be assured of a reasonable return for the expenditure of his 

 time, effort, and money. The same applies to the farmer producer, 

 who separates his milk on the farm and delivers his cream to the 

 dairy plant. 



Mr. Andresen. May I add to that that the creamery Mr. Lund 

 manages is engaged exclusively in the manufacture of dairy products. 

 They do not sell any fluid milk. That creamery is typical of hundreds 

 of other creameries in the country that are not able to sell their 

 fluid milk, although they can produce grade A milk. The markets 

 in the milk-shed areas have been taken away from them, and they 

 really have a trade barrier so that they cannot get into those markets. 

 They must therefore rely solely upon manufactured products. 



That is correct, is it not, Mr. Lund. 



Mr. Lund. That is correct; yes, sir. 



Mr. Pace. Thank you, Mr. Lund. 



The next witness is Mr. Leonard E. Kopitzke, president of the 

 Wisconsin Cheese Makers' Association, Marion, Wis. 



I will let our colleague, Mr. Murray, introduce Mr. Kopitzke. 



Mr. Murray. And it won't be necessary to say the nice things 

 about me in connection with this that you said about Mr. Andresen, 

 because Mr. Kopitzke has appeared here before, many times, as repre- 



