834 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Price supports are also needed to prevent undue hardships to the 

 growers resulting from governmental programs. Three such programs 

 in recent years have caused broiler producers unwarranted hardship, 

 the ill-advised publicity from the Luckman committee during the 

 poultryless Thursdays campaign caused poultry prices ta drop be- 

 low the cost of production; the exporting of grain caused an unfavor- 

 able broiler-feed ratio by increasing the price of feed, and the profitable 

 support prices paid recently for eggs not only caused egg production 

 to increase beyond the level needed for consumption, but also promises 

 to create an additional supply of poultry meat for market as a by- 

 product of this increased egg production, which is expected to have 

 an adverse effect on all poultry meat prices. 



Looking at the future, the broiler industry realizes that if Govern- 

 ment programs now under consideration should be crystallized into 

 law, they might likewise have an adverse effect on the economy of 

 the poultry industry. For example, a program which involved heavy 

 compensatory payments to producers of red meats while broiler pro- 

 duction was unprotected would certainly bring hardships and perhaps 

 disaster to the poultry industry. Wlien all these factors are consider- 

 ed, the reasons for price supports, for the broiler industry become clear- 

 ly evident. 



Recognizing the need of price supports for the broiler industry^ 

 careful consideration should now be given to the level at which prices 

 are to be supported. 



Since broiler production responds rapidly to changing economic 

 conditions, high prices, accompanied by large profits, bring an expan- 

 sion of production; low prices and losses will substantially reduce 

 production. A high support price would tend to bring about the 

 necessity for regimentation of the industry under a system of produc- 

 tion controls and likely limit future opportunities. A support price 

 near the cost of production should tend to bring about an orderly 

 adjustment of production to market requirements, prevent disastrous 

 losses to growers and eliminate inefficient operations. 



We firmly believe a program to support broiler prices at a stop-loss 

 level for the average grower, omitting production controls, to be in the 

 best interest of the broiler producer for the following reasons: 



1. It would protect the average grower from severe losses, and yet, 

 since it would operate only in extremely low markets, the cost to the 

 taxpayers, including the broiler producers, would be slight. 



2. It would still place the emphasis on the initiative and individual 

 efforts of the grower, since a profitable income for future years would 

 depend primarily on the efficiency of his management practices. 



Mr. Pace. Thank you very much for your statement. 



STATEMENT OF HOMER AYRES, FARM RELATIONS DIRECTOR, 

 UNITED FARM EQUIPMENT AND METAL WORKERS, CIO 



Mr. Pace. We will hear next from Mr. Homer Ayres, farm rela- 

 tions director, United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers, of the 

 CIO. 



Mr. Ayres? 



Mr. Ayres. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my 

 name is Homer Ayres. I am farm relations director for the United 

 Farm Equipment and Metal Workers, CIO. I have been a farmer 



