Chatting together during the niinoia Agri- 

 culture-Industry Conference in Decatur, 

 Sept. 20, are. left to right: B. B. Bums, 

 president of Association of Commerce, De- 

 catun Macon County Farm Adviser J. R. 



not be prosperous unless the whole 

 economy is prosperous, and urban busi- 

 ness cannot thrive unless agriculture 

 thrives too. . .The city population is 

 the most indispensable part of the 

 farmer's market, but the farmers are 

 also a mighty important part of the city 

 worker's market. If farmers are pros- 

 perous, they can buy tractors, trucks, 

 clothing and furniture that industries 

 in the cities produce, contributing to 

 the employment by their spending." 



This recognition of the importance 

 of farm prosperity to the prosperity of 

 the country also was reflected by A. E. 

 Staley, Jr., president of the A. E. Staley 

 Manufacturing Company, Decatur, in 

 a statement he made during the 

 panel discussion: Staley said he thought 

 that parity prices for agricultural prod- 

 ucts was a step toward maintaining full 

 employment. He declared that the 

 key to a profitable processing business 

 is to have reasonable and adequate re- 

 turns to the farmer with prices at least 

 at parity levels. When the farmer 

 suffers low prices, processors of his 

 products suffer likewise, he added. 



Another question of great interest 

 directed to President Smith in the 

 panel discussion was: "What will hap- 

 pen to prices when consumer subsidies 

 are removed?" 



The lAA president answered that 

 the price effect to the producer or con- 

 sumer in the removal of subsidies will 

 be determined largely by the timing of 

 the removal of price ceilings, elimina- 



Gilkey; Macon County Farm Bureau Presi- 

 dent H. B. Munch; Secretary of Agriculture 

 Clinton Anderson: Mayor I. A. Hedriclc 

 Decatur; Secretary Henry Bolz. Decatur 

 Association of Commerce. 



tion of rationing, and adjustment of 

 subsidies as related to— the supply and 

 demand picture. _ 



Secretary Anderson said that he be- 

 lieved that "with very few exceptions 

 all hold-the-line subsidies could dis- 

 appear by next June 30." 



On the question of "What is the 

 hired labor situation on farms since 

 V-J Day?", Secretary Anderson de- 

 clared that the situation is more diffi- 

 cult than ever before. He said that he 

 had sent a letter to General Hershey, 

 head of the Selective Service, asking 

 that no more farm labor be drafted 

 this year. He also reported that he 

 had advised Secretary of War Patterson 

 that prisoners of war should not be re- 

 moved until this year's crops are harv- 

 ested. 



E. A. Eckert, master of the Illinois 

 State Grange, a member of the discus- 

 sion panel, was asked the question: 

 "How can farmers be assured of low 

 interest rate working capital for prod- 

 uction purposes, if the Production 

 Credit Bank of the Farm Credit Ad- 

 ministration is done away with?" 



Mr. Eckert declared that he thought 

 there was a place for both the private 

 bank and the Production Credit, as- 

 serting that competition is the life of 

 trade. 



Harper Sibley, former president of the 

 U. S. Chamber of Commerce, when 

 asked his opinions on foreign agricul- 

 ture competition, said he believed the 



pre-war balance of export and import 

 of agricultural products will be re- 

 gained. 



He explained that hand labor of 

 many of the foreign countries ob- 

 viously cannot compete with our farm 

 machinery, that what corn is shipped 

 to our seaboards is not enough to 

 worry about, and that hoof and mouth 

 disease extends throughout the Argentine 

 livestock industry. ■-; ; . 



A healthy atmosphere of willingness 

 to learn about the other fellow's prob- 

 lems prevailed throughout the agricul- 

 ture-industry cohference. Mr. Sibley 

 compared the conference to the early 

 New England town meetings, which he 

 said, represented democracy in action 

 because policies were formed at the 

 bottom and worked to the top, instead 

 of being formed at the top and passed 

 back to the people. 



"llUi Month 



f Continued from page 3) 



Some 642 persons attend the agriculture-industry conference at Decatur. 

 OCTOBER. 1945 



The report of the AFBF postwar policy 

 committee also states: "There is a defi- 

 nite obligation of the government to sup- 

 port prices to the end of the marketing 

 season on all crops under production on 

 January 1 following the proclamation an- 

 nouncing the termination of hostilities. 



"Beyond that jseriod, the government 

 is obligated to the extent that farmers 

 respond to requests for adjustment in 

 production." 



In other words, the committee's report 

 states that the government is obligated 

 to make good on its assurance of 90 per 

 cent parity support for one year after the 

 war's official end, and on all agricultural 

 commodities in which the government 

 asked for increased production. Price 

 supports in the second year after the 

 official end of the war could be modified 

 only to the extent that farmers might fail 

 to meet the government's request for ad- 

 justed production. 



Summarized in one paragraph, after 

 careful review of all present laws relat- 

 ing to agriculture, it is the belief not 

 only of the postwar policy committee, but 

 of the board of the American Farm Bu- 

 reau Federation, that with one or two 

 minor exceptions, present laws are ade- 

 quate to protect agriculture against any 

 serious price declines. It is also their 

 belief that final results will depend \'ery 

 largely upon the intelligent understand- 

 ing exercised by responsible administra- 

 tive officials of government in timing 

 their actions affecting individual com- 

 modities and the effective use of not only 

 the authorities given in the laws, but the 

 piandates of Congress. 



