GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 1155 



law if it was found that that was the most economical way of doing it? 

 That is fundamental, is it not? 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. 



Mr. Pace. If you found you would purchase hogs more cheaply 

 and efficiently you would use that method. 



Secretary Brannan. That term "economically" will probably 

 bother our law3^ers a little bit. If economical means saving dollars 

 only and not some of the other elements that are involved in this that 

 would be one thing. 



Mr. Pace. Mr. Hoeven. 



Mr. Hoeven. Mr. Secretary, when do you anticipate that the 

 prices on hogs this year will have declined to the support level? 



Secretary Brannan. We anticipated that they would have last 

 month. As a matter of fact, the range did move down from the 

 choicest at around $18 to the less desirable at below the support 

 level. The range was still above. I think some time in October is 

 when we anticipate the big flow of hogs to the market again. 



Mr. Hoeven. You anticipated a run some time ago and the market 

 last week, I think, was $22. It was $22.50 at one time, which is 

 stiU about $5 or $6 above the support figure. 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Hoeven, let me say to you that our 

 anticipation of a run was not wholly unwarranted. There was a 

 run and the prices did get seriously low. I would like to just point 

 out that if we had not been able to announce that British arrangement 

 at the time we did, we might have been in there buying hogs for a week 

 or so. 



Mr. Hoeven. You contend that it was that factor that kept the 

 price up. 



Secretary Brannan. That was one of the factors. I think the 

 run was shorter than we anticipated, too. There is no representation 

 on our part that we are infallible about these things. We just do the 

 very best estimating we can on all the facts that we have available. 



Mr. Hoeven. Mr. Secretary, one of the things that bothers me is 

 this. Under the production payment plan you would drive the price 

 of hogs down. 



Secretary Brannan. No; you do not drive them down. They 

 find their level in the market place. 



Mr. Hoeven. They are going down to whatever they will bring in 

 the market place. That is driving the price down. 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. If we have no price-support 

 system that is what wUl happen, too. 



Mr. Hoeven. Then what is going to happen to the farmer who is 

 confronted with feeding $1.36 corn to low-priced hogs? 



Secretary Brannan. You will remember we have a provision in our 

 original propositions and statements, and it is also in the law, that we 

 can make an adjustment within the range of 15 percent to bring the 

 corn-hog ratio into a good working balance. 



Mr. Hoeven. Does it not stand to reason that if the hogs go down 

 to meet the price in the market place corn will also go down? There 

 is a close relationship between corn and hogs. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes, sir. It means we will get a great deal 

 more consumption of both the hogs and the corn, which is another 

 problem we are confronted with. 



