GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 789 



Mr. Wilson. I thiiik I have. I think I put that in the document 

 I am fihng with you. I tell you to go in the other direction rather 

 than more guarantees. When you guarantee one, when you start 

 with one, you have to guarantee all. 



Mr. Granger. I know; but, coming back to what we are talking 

 about, we are talking about the commitment already made, that we 

 have to do something about. 



Mr. Wilson. The guarantee of hogs, you mean? 



Mr. Granger. Yes. 



Mr. Wilson. I think on that that your Secretary or the Department 

 will possibly move in the direction they did before, of taking the 

 product out of the market and trying to bolster the price up to that. 

 I say again there that is merely a stopgap to get through the problem 

 we have gotten ourselves into. If you are going to guarantee one, 

 then tou step to the next and on and on. 



Mr. Granger. You are away ahead of me. I want to get back to 

 the Secretary. He does not, as a matter of fact, have any solution 

 for the problem? 



Mr. Wilson. I think that is right. 



Mr. Granger. And you have not a,ny recommendation you can 

 make? 



Mr. Wilson. No. 



Mr. Pace. Thank you very much, Mr. Wilson. 



It is now the pleasure of the committee to hear Mr. Mark W. 

 Pickell, executive secretary of the Corn Belt Livestock Feeders 

 Association. 



We will be delighted to hear from you at this time. 



STATEMENT OF MARK W. PICKELL, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, 

 CORN BELT LIVESTOCK FEEDERS ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Pickell. My name is Mark W. Pickell. I am executive 

 secretary of the Corn Belt Livestock Feeders Association, with execu- 

 tive offices at 176 West Adams Street, Chicago. This association 

 was formed by the State Livestock Feeders Association from Ohio 

 on the east and Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota on the West. 

 Its president is C. B. Watson of DeKalb, 111., who is here with me. 

 Mr. Watson feeds about 1,500 head of hogs and about 600 head of 

 cattle a year. The first vice president is Herb Barr of Leoti, Ivans., 

 and the second vice president is E. H. Mattingly, sheep breeder near 

 St. Louis, Mo. 



Anticipating this hearing, we sent out to the officers of the State 

 and county livestock feeders associations all tlii'ough the Corn Belt 

 States, a questionnaire in which we asked them to express their 

 opinion on the proposed Brannan farm program. We asked three 

 questions. 



The first question asked was, "Should the Brannan proposals 

 pertaining to livestock whereb}^ a subsidy paid direct out of taxes 

 equal to the difference between the average farm price and the new 

 'parity' is given the producer, be endorsed and advocated before 

 congressional committees?" 



Instead of voting on this individually and each director sending 

 in his vote by mail, the directors of the Nebraska Livestock Feeders 

 Association met in special session on April 15 and voted as a group. 



