March, 1933 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Sine 



A DISQUIETING aspect of the 

 farm surplus situation is the 

 keen competition it has aroused 

 among producers, for preferred 

 markets. Thus we find unorganized 

 farmers fighting producer associa- 

 tions which through superior bar- 

 gaining power and a better quality 

 product have been able to secure 

 higher prices. Nowhere is this con- 

 dition more apparent than in the 

 sale of fluid milk, although it exists 

 among fruit and vegetable growers 

 and others. 



Because the milk business in the 

 larger cities is well organized, both 

 in production and distributing, it 

 has been able to maintain relatively 

 satisfactory prices. Farmers in fluid 

 milk territory have fared better 

 than dairymen in the butter, 

 cheese, and condensery districts. As 

 a result, milk production not only 

 has been stepped up in the higher 

 price territory but "outsiders" have 

 exerted more and more pressure to 

 get in the preferred group. 



Even $1.25 or $1.40 a hundred 

 pounds, low as it is, is decidedly 

 more attractive than a butterfat 

 price of around 70 cents. A pro- 

 ducer who is "off" the market while 

 his neighbor is "on," can't see the 

 justice of the discrimination. So we 

 have the situation of a McHenry 

 county producer, for example, man- 

 damusing the Chicago Health com- 

 missioner to inspect his herd, that 

 he too, may sell his milk on the 

 big market. And there is good rea- 

 son for such action particularly 

 where milk is being brought into 

 Chicago from more remote sections 

 of Wisconsin. 



Whenever a price in one section 

 or point gets out of line with the 

 general average, it immediately be- 

 comes a target for larger supplies of 

 the commodity, and price cutting. 

 A producers organization can't 

 maintain a price for fluid milk too 

 high above its "surplus" value, 

 commented H. D. AUebach, presi- 

 dent of the Philadelphia milk pro- 

 ducers association recently. If the 

 price is too high unorganized dairy- 

 men farther back in the country 

 flood the market with their cheaper 

 milk. This leads to disorganization 

 and loss of all that has been gained 

 by organization. 



It was definitely demonstrated 

 during the recent milk war at the 

 Quad Cities that a low price for 

 milk greatly increases consump- 

 tion. In view of the tremendous 

 surpluses everywhere, and the 



dwindling percentages of milk go- 

 ing into fluid classes, cutting the 

 price may be a wise step both for 

 the organized producers and the 

 established distributors. 



In a period like the present, the 

 importance to the farmer of dis- 

 tributing milk efficiently to the 

 consumer cannot be too strongly 

 emphasized. Farmers must work for 

 a larger portion of the consumer's 

 dollar, though the effort places 

 them in direct conflict with the 

 dealers and their employees whose 

 main interest lies in maintaining 

 high wages and comfortable profits. 

 Where a board of health doesn't 

 autocratically eliminate distributor 

 competition, the situation rights it- 

 self for a wide margin invariably 

 attracts new and perhaps more 

 efficient milk dealers into the field. 



The ideal situation, of course, is 

 to have comparatively few but 

 highly efficient milk distributors 

 charging the consumer a moderate 

 price, and returning to the pro- 

 ducer a maximum percentage of 

 the retail price. To bring such a 

 situation about it may occasionally 

 be necessary for producers to get 

 into the distributing business them- 

 selves. — ^E. O. T. 



Industry To The Rescue 



(Continued from page 8) 



nomic barriers which in the long 

 run only tend to throw everything 

 out of joint with resulting unem- 

 ployment and hard times. 



There in plenty of evidence to 

 support the belief that this de- 

 pression would not have lasted so 

 long had there been less inter- 

 ference with natural trade and 

 commerce between nations, with 

 prices, rates, national currencies, 

 etc. "rhe world has never seen such 

 an orgy of manipulation as today. 

 And judging from the condition of 

 business in this country other na- 

 tions so far have out-manipulated 

 us. 



Hyde Would Pay Farmers 

 Rent For Idle Lands 



Secretary of Agriculture Arthur 

 M. Hyde recently proposed a plan 

 under which the federal govern- 

 ment would lease and eventually 

 purchase farm lands withdrawn 

 from cultivation. 



Under this plan a fund of from 

 $150,000,000 to $200,000,000 a year 

 would be provided. The treasury 

 would be reimbursed from the pro- 

 ceeds of a tax of eight cents a 

 bushel on domestically consumed 

 wheat and corresponding taxes to 

 be paid by the consumers of other 

 farm products. 



At present there are 60,000,000 

 acres planted to wheat, and 45,- 



$90,000,000 Available 

 Crop Production Loans 



A reduction of 30 per cent in the 

 acreage planted to cash crops will 

 be required this year to procure 

 crop production loans according to 

 Secretary of Agriculture Arthur M. 

 Hyde. 



Approximately $90,000,000 have 

 been made available for crop pro- 

 duction loans through the Recon- 

 struction Finance Corporation. As 

 a condition of any loan the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture is authorized to 

 require "that the borrower agree to 

 reduce his acreage or production on 

 such basis, not to exceed 30 per 

 centum, as may be determined by 

 the Secretary." 



Farmers seeking crop production 

 loans this season are advised to ob- 

 tain application blanks and copies 

 of the regulations in their home 

 county rather than from Washing- 

 ton. Field agents of the Crop Pro- 

 duction Loan office are now 

 designating representatives in each 

 farming county to inform prospec- 

 tive borrowers of the requirements 

 governing loans and to distribute 

 application blanks and other nec- 

 essary forms. These agents will as- 

 sist farmers in filling out applica- 

 tions without charge. 



The 1933 regulations limit the 

 amount available to any individual 

 to $300. As last year, interest is 

 fixed at 5.5 per cent to be deducted 

 when the advance Is made. All 

 notes are due October 31, 1933. 



000,000 acres to cotton. Secretary 

 Hyde suggests that the first 3^ar 

 the government might lease 10,000,- 

 000 acres each of wheat, com, and 

 cotton lands, paying about $1.50 an 

 acre for wheat, $3 for com, and $2 

 for cotton. At that annual rental 

 30,000,000 acres of marginal lands 

 now in crops could be taken out of 

 cultivation for $65,000,000. 



"With this fund at its disposal," 

 said Secretary Hyde, "enough land 

 could be leased by the government 

 to bring about a balanced produc- 

 tion. The plan is direct, positive, 

 and reaches the real disease and is 

 not a mere bandage on a sjrmptom. 

 The effect on farm commodity 

 prices would be felt the instant the 

 commodity markets knew that a 

 part of the land now producing the 

 surpluses was to be taken out of 

 cultivation." 



The government, under the Hyde 

 plan, would take a ten year lease 

 on the withdrawn lands, with an 

 option to purchase and devote them 

 to a general land utilization pro- 

 gram, whereby marginal lands 

 would be set aside for forest pro- 

 duction or other purposes. 



The Organization-Publicity Ad- 

 visory Committee will meet In the 

 I. A. A. offices on Friday, March 10. 



