GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 1243 



Mr. Murray. Will the gentleman yield at that point? 



How do you account for that? 



Mr. Parodneck. It indicates that we have not kept up with our 

 consumption. 



Mr. Murray. Why? 



Mr. Parodneck. It is obviously a matter of purchasing power. 



Mr. Murray. Didn't your organization appear here before this 

 committee and was in favor of free trade? 



Mr. Parodneck. Oh, no, sir. 



Mr. Murray. And reciprocal trade duties under which the duties 

 on dairy products have been lowered from time to time and which 

 has weakened the dairy industry of the United States. 



Mr. Parodneck. Mr. Congressman, on the contrary, we have 

 appeared before this and other committees and wanted to continue 

 the programs which made possible the high per capita consumption 

 of milk which was in effect during the war years when our members, 

 the farmers, had a genuine prosperity. It is since the declining con- 

 sumption of milk has set in that there has been a decline in their 

 income and their cost of doing business has increased. There is no 

 way of correcting the root of this problem unless you find a way of 

 increasing consumption. 



This program attempts to approach the problem from that end 

 and that is the basic reason why we are very much interested in seeing 

 it tried. 



Mr. Murray. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield right there? 



If you are interested in getting cheaper milk in New York, why 

 do vou not remove your trade barriers and let milk go into the State 

 of New York? 



Mr. Parodneck. New York does not have any trade barriers. 



Mr. Murray. Did you ever try to ship any in from another State? 



Mr. Parodneck. We bring in cream from all over the country. 



Mr. Murray. I am not talking about cream but about milk. Have 

 you tried to ship any milk into New York? 



Mr. Parodneck. New York produces twice as much milk as it 

 uses. 



Mr. Murray. It does? You had better get a little bit better 

 acquainted with your organization because New York surely does not. 

 I Mr. Parodneck. Fifty percent of our milk or a little less is used 

 as fluid milk. 



Mr. Murray. Where do you export it to if it is not consumed in 

 New York? 



Mr. Parodneck. It is manufactured for export aU over the world. 

 It is made into cheese, condensed milk, powdered milk, and all sorts 

 of byproducts. That is the other 50 percent. 



Mr. Murray. How many million people do you have in New York? 



Mr. Parodneck. About 14,000,000, I think. 



Mr. Murray. All right. Fourteen million people and 800 pounds 

 per capita production would make 1 1 billion pounds of milk and you 

 produce but 7 or 8 billion total. 



Mr. Parodneck. Our dairy farmers are an unhappy lot right now. 

 They are worried and they are very much disturbed. The cause of 

 their disturbance is not hard to find. They have had a cut in income 

 in the last year of 25 to 30 percent. I think they are reacting as 

 normal human beings in the face of that event. 



