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CHAPTER 9 

 PRICES 



FARMERS phrase their worries in a great many terms. They 

 speak of the high cost of labor and equipment, overproduc- 

 tion of certain products, the loss of markets, and the high 

 cost of distributing food. What they really mean is that farm 

 prices are lower than they would like to see them. 



Consumers similarly have adopted phrases that express 

 their concern. They fear declining farm production, they 

 mistrust the farm bloc, and they resent the gouging policies 

 of the food distributors. They really mean that the retail 

 price of food is higher than they would like to pay. 



Price Is the Fundamental Issue 



No matter how it is phrased, price is the real issue for both 

 producer and consumer. To agriculture as a whole, price vir- 

 tually means income, since production times price equals in- 

 come, and production is largely beyond control. To the con- 

 sumer, the price of food determines how much money will 

 be left for the other things besides food that are desired. 



The Subject of Prices Is Controversial 



Every price at which goods change hands is the result of 

 a controversy, either mild or violent, between buyer and 



