

\ 



Farm income this year will approxi- 

 mate $8,250,000,000, a 29.3 per cent in- 

 crease over 1933. This estimate is by 

 Standard Statistics, not by the AAA. It 

 includes crop adjustment benefits paid 

 or scheduled to be paid between now and 

 Jan. 1. This record is rather a com- 

 plete answer to enemies of crop adjust- 

 ment who criticise everything that is be- 

 ing done to pull agriculture out of the 

 mire. 



\\ Secretary Henry A Wallace stopped 

 in the office this morning (Aug. 21) for 

 an informal visit and chat with officers 

 and members of the I. A. A. staff. The 

 tired, deeply lined and care-worn face 

 many of us saw at Rockford the Sunday 

 before, was completely changed. A lit- 

 tle sleep and rest will do wonders for a 

 normally healthy constitution. On his 

 way east, the Secretary changed his 

 plans to attend Speaker Rainey's funeral 

 at Carrollton and accompany the Presi- 

 dent back to New York State. 



more than 500 people, perhaps, can mus- 

 ter to their support when any lowering 

 of the tariff is suggested," the Secretary 

 told his audience at Camp Grant. 



Processing taxes, alcohol-gas dilution, 

 co-operative marketing, direct buying of 

 livestock, corn-hog control, reclama- 

 tion, taxes. Farm Bureau membership 

 and many other questions were raised at 

 our informal session. The Secretary 

 thought Illinois farmers were doing rath- 

 er well to maintain an organization of 

 some 61,000 members. He was inter- 

 ested in I. A. A. activities and the rec- 

 ord of patronage dividends and services 

 used kept in Secretary Metzger's office 

 for each member. He conceded that there 

 would be a good deal of justification for 

 reducing the processing tax on hogs and 

 placing part of the burden on cattle and 

 sheep since these classes of livestock 

 have been benefited by the hog control 

 plan. He pointed out that if hog prices 

 go to parity, the processing tax auto- 

 matically is eliminated under the AAA 

 Act. 



Consider Sale Soybean Hay 

 ; To Federal Relief Officials 



r» 



Henry Wallace's mind, heart and soul 

 are 'wrapped up in the many-sided eco- 

 nomic problems affecting the welfare 

 of the country, and particularly agri- 

 culture. His job undoubtedly is the 

 heaviest of any cabinet member. Each 

 commodity represents a different prob- 

 lem. He is and must be well-versed in 

 the broader phases, at least, of every 

 production control and licensing program 

 being administered. Secretary Wallace 

 doesn't discuss politics. He isn't inter- 

 ested in it except as it affects the work- 

 ing out of solutions. He readily ad- 

 mitted that he agreed with the sug- 

 gestions of three prominent Republicans, 

 Ogden Mills, Henry L. Stimson, and a 

 coming possible Republican presidential 

 candidate, that the tariff should be 

 sharply cut on industrial products to al- 

 low foreign goods to enter this coun- 

 try in exchange for surplus American 

 farm products. - 



. ■• - " -'^..'i ■•...• 



But how to do it. Such a program, 

 if energetically carried out so as to re- 

 sult in heavy foreign buying of farm 

 products and make acreage and crop con- 

 trol unnecessary, would be far more 

 radical than anything yet attempted by 

 the present administration. Democrats 

 as well as Republicans are sensitive 

 about the tariff, Mr. Wallace said. Some 

 progress will be made in this direction 

 but to make drastic slashes at one fell 

 swoop would close up many industries 

 and bring about a temporary maladjust- 

 ment that would rock the country. "It's 

 surprising how many congressmen and 

 senators a small industry employing not 



It is likely that the processing tax will 

 remain on hogs until November 1935. As 

 hog receipts dwindle at the terminal 

 markets more and more of the process- 

 ing tax, it appears, is being passed on to 

 the consumer. At this writing, hog prices 

 plus the processing tax very nearly ap- 

 proach parity. 



What is the attitude of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture on reclamation 

 projects? "There's no question about 

 our attitude," he smilingly replied. "We 

 expressed our opinion. The administra- 

 tion plans to take out of production 

 enough marginal land to compensate for 

 the extra acres that will be brought un- 

 der the plow. $25,000,000 has been ap- 

 propriated already for this purpose. The 

 irrigation projects, he continued, will not 

 affect com belt farmers so much as they 

 will farmers now producing specialty 

 crops in the irrigated area. They are the 

 fellows who will be hurt."— E. G. T. 



Corn Loan Repayments 

 ? 1 Million Dollars Daily 



Corn loans, which were made last win- 

 ter and spring to mid-western farmers 

 to the total of $120,647,500, were being 

 repaid to the Government at the rate of 

 more than a million dollars a day in 

 mid-August although the maturity date 

 for the loans some weeks ago was ex- 

 tended from August 1 to September 1. 

 Officials of the Agricultural Adjustment 

 Administration stated that $26,369,464.69 

 had been received on Aug. 13, and that 

 loans were being repaid at an increasing 

 rate. :-■: ..-v^-.v ••:..-,.•.•.. ..•• ■.:...:..;-v. 



The loan period was recently extended an addl* 

 tlonal five montha from September Ist with tha «n* 

 derstandin^ that the borrower must flrit offer his 

 com (at current market price) to the federal fov 

 ernment before aale.— Editor. 



EABL 0. SMITH 



As we go to press considerable prog- 

 ress has been made by the I. A. A. and 

 Soybean Marketing Association toward 

 rounding up supplies of Illinois soybean 

 hay for the Federal Surplus Relief Cor- 

 poration and other buyers from drouth 

 areas. Most of the hay will be shipped 

 to save livestock in the burned-out areas 

 west of the Mississippi river. The soy-? 



bean-growing coun- 

 ties have been given 

 hay allotments 

 based on their acre- 

 ages. Federal relief 

 authorities have in- 

 dicated their desire 

 to purchase some- 

 where between 50,- 

 000 and 150,000 tons 

 of Illinois soybean 

 hay. 



President John W. 

 Armstrong of the 

 Soybean Association, President Earl C. 

 Smith and Treasurer Robert A. Cowles 

 of the I. A. A. have been carrying on 

 negotiations for several weeks with the 

 idea of strengthening the market situa- 

 tion for soybeans. With^ close to a 50 

 per cent increase in acreage this year, 

 the outlook for a reasonable price for 

 soybeans was anything but favorable; 

 Buyers were decidedly pessimistic. Then 

 the possibilities of making hay out of a 

 substantial percentage of the crop was 

 presented by Mr. Smith and Mr. Arm- 

 strong to meetings of soybean growers, 

 and the entire market situation changed., 

 Buyers began taking an entirely differ- 

 ent attitude toward future prices. If 

 growers take advantage of the opportu- 

 nity to dispose of a substantial portion 

 of the soybean crop in the form of hay, 

 1934 soybean income promises to be 

 greatly enhanced. ,;'■ >.'^:''. •'',>i;-'^>''' v/ ••';'? .-•' 



John T. Smith, soybean grower of 

 Champaign county, has been retained 

 temporarily by the Soybean Association 

 to contact growers and determine what 

 response would be made to the plan. It 

 is planned to provide hay inspection be- 

 fore shipment. - Baled soybean hay of 

 good quality, which is dry and free from 

 weeds, will bring close to $15 per ton 

 less handling charges at country points. 

 A good field will yield one and one-half 

 to two tons of hay per acre. •. 



The Pure Milk Association also has 

 negotiated for substantial quantities of 

 soybean hay for their members in the 

 Chicago milk shed. Meetings of Central 

 Illinois soybean growers and farm ad- 

 visers were held during the State Fair^ 

 August 23-24 at the call of President 

 Smith, to discuss the hay deal. 



SEPTEMBER, 1934 



