GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 1165 



Mr. Andresen. I have before me here a release from the Depart- 

 ment dated April 1 relating to the support price of hogs for this fall. 

 I see this states $16.25 per hundred. As I understood the article 

 •when I read it, that would be on the good, choice hogs, and that would 

 be the top. Now, would you pay more than that for good, choice 

 hogs weighing, say, 170 to 220 pounds? 



Secretary Brannan. You understand, Mr. Andresen, we would not 

 buy hogs at all; we would buy the finished products. 



Air. AxDRESEX. I mean under the present program. 



Secretary Brannan. Under the present program, we could not 

 buy hogs at all. We have to buy the finished products. If we 

 bought hogs in any quantity, then, of course, we really would be in 

 the hog business, and we would have to supply lots, feed, vaccination, 

 and all the rest of the things. 



Mr. Andresen. I appreciate that; but, of course, you would natu- 

 rally buy the pork products the same as you are buying butter. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. 



Mr. Andresen. And the same as you are buying milk products. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. And whenever you buy any com- 

 modity in the finished form which comes into the market in various 

 grades and varieties, it is almost impossible, in our opinion, to get 

 the support price through that processor back to the producer. 



Mr. Andresen. In this calculation of $230,000,000 as being the 

 cost, you contemplate a 20-percent drop? 



Secretary Brannan. Well, we did not contemplate any drop. The 

 computation of $230,000,000 is based simply on this buying of the 

 finished product from the packer's door and putting it into cold 

 storage. That is where the $230,000,000 comes from. 



Mr. Andresen. Buying at the support price? 



Secretary Brannan. That is at whatever price you have to pay 

 presumablv to reflect the support price to the producers. 



Mr. Andresen. This $230,000,000 would be the amount that you 

 would pay to the producer, or would that just be the cost to the 

 Government? 



Secretary Brannan. No; that amount would flow incidentally to 

 the producer. The objective of the payment would be that it would 

 by paying a specific amount per pound to the processor for the 

 finished product — that the price would be intended to refiect to the 

 producers $16.50 or the support level as of October. 



Mr. Andresen. The pork price would have to go down, then, 

 below the support level before you would start paying the producer? 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Andresen, we cannot pay the producer 

 directly at any time. I am talking about the existing program and the 

 existing authorities and not about any proposal. 



Mr. Andresen. The proposal we have before us is a temporary 

 try-out proposition. How would that be handled? 



Secretary Brannan. Speaking of the proposal, the proposal is to 

 allow the hogs to go into the market place under the normal practices, 

 under the normal processes, and if the net to the producer is below 

 the suppoit lev^el, on the average, then to pay the difference between 

 the average which all farmers got in the market place for that same 

 commodity, for the same types of commodities, and the support level, 

 whatever that may be. 



Mr. Andresen. Assuming, then, the price went down to $12, 

 average price, you would be paying the producers $4.50 a hundred, or 



