GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 987 



Mr. Granger. Mr. Chairman, just one more question. Mr. Case^ 

 have you anything besides a guess at what you think your production 

 might be? Do you have any record over a period of years as to the 

 production and what the parity price of potatoes has been over that, 

 period of time that would be any guide whatsoever? 



Mr. Case. Prior to the war, sir? 



Mr. Granger. Yes. 



Mr. Case. The production we could get very easily. Our produc- 

 tion figures and yield per acre figures are available. But I do not 

 know that the parity figure on potatoes is available over any period 

 of years in the past. 



^Ir. Granger. So what you are saying is an estimate or a guess 

 at the best. 



Mr. Case. On what the parity figm-e would be. 



Mr. Granger. Yes. 



Mr. Case. Yes, it woidd be onij a guess on my part. Some 

 figures are available in the Department. 



Mr. CooLEY. What percentage of the potato production was with- 

 held from the market in normal times? 



Mr. Case. I believe that of all {potatoes produced somewhere 

 around 80 percent of the potatoes have gone into human consumption. 

 The balance have been waste and seed and so forth. 



Mr. Cooley. a lot of them were withheld from the market because 

 of the inferior grade? 



Mr. Case. That is right. 



Mr. Cooley. During recent years under the support program 

 everything has gone to market, has it not? 



Mr. Case. In some areas, not in ours. We have had a marketing 

 agreement for 2 years that prohibited the shipment of culls and 

 growers with no compensation of any kind in the marketing agreement 

 areas have been prevented from shipping culls. 



Mr. Cooley. Thank you very much, sir. 



STATEMENT OF LESTER RICHARDS, POTATO GROWER, MANIS- 

 TIQUE AREA, MICHIGAN 



Mr. Richards. Before you get away from this compensatory prob- 

 lem that Mr. Case has been following through on, I represent a small 

 group, not a large group such as they represent. We are pretty much 

 in accord throughout the whole statement he has made. 



We do have a suggestion that was discussed at our own meeting 

 that following the 60 percent of parity, starting in the fall of the j^ear. 

 taking in the lower grades of potatoes with the objective of reducing 

 the surplus by the withdrawal of the low-grade potatoes from the 

 market, that that 60 percent carry through until possibly the 1st of 

 March and then instead of the compensatory payments for the with- 

 drawal of the remainder of the surplus the support price be increased 

 on the No. 1 grade of potatoes to 75 percent and the support on the 

 No. 2 and lower grades to 40 percent of parity with the direct objec- 

 tive there of allowing a definite time for the low grades to be removed 

 from the market, then simply cutting the support back so that those 

 who have not taken advantage up until the 1st of March would no 

 longer get the large support on their poor grades. 



