Offered by AFBF 



• ••*••••**** 



To DISCUSS the nation's farm pro- 

 gram for the postwar period, a dele- 

 gation of Farm Bureau leaders met 

 with President Harry S. Truman in late 

 September and later the same day with 

 Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. 

 Anderson. 



The group included American Farm 

 Bureau Federation President Edward A. 

 O'Neal and Earl C. Smith, Vice-presi- 

 dent of the AFBF and president of the 

 I A A, chairman of the delegation. 



In a statement read by Mr. Smith, the 

 Farm Bureau group commended Presi- 

 dent Truman for his views on agriculture 

 contained in his message to Congress. 



President Truman was reported to have 

 been most cordial in his welcome and 

 to have shown great interest in the rec- 

 ommendations submitted to him. 



The statement, read by Mr. Smith, in- 

 dicated that farmers want to keep the 

 15 basic laws now on the statute books 

 for stabilizing agriculture. 



"With only minor changes, the pro- 

 gram made possible by these laws, 

 properly administered, is considered by 

 our group as adequate to meet the situa- 

 tion." 



Specific recommendations were made 

 as follows: 



1 . It is the responsibility of the federal 

 government to give price-support to ail 

 agricultural commodities where the gov- 

 ernment asked for increased production, 

 whether it was by proclamation or by 

 official program planning. 



2. There is a definite obligation of the 

 government to support prices to the end 

 of the marketing season on all crops 

 under production Jan. 1 following ter- 

 mination of hostilities. After the first 

 year, the government is obligated to sup- 

 port prices to the extent that farmers 

 respond to requests for adjustment in 

 production. 



3. The Marketing Agreements Act 

 should be revised to permit growers of 

 any farm commodity to operate under 

 marketing agreements, and also to per- 

 mit the Secretary of Agriculture to ap- 

 prove a marketing agreement without 

 waiting for the price of the commodity 

 involved to fall below parity. 



We consider existing legislation per- 



taining to basic crops is adequate to han- 

 dle the postwar price-support programs 

 for the coming year (1946). 

 Corn 



1. Commodity loans at 90 per cent of 

 parity, as provided under existing legis- 

 lation should be used. 



2. There should be no governmental 

 program of acreage adjustment for 1946. 



Wheat 



1. Commodity loans at 90 per cent of 

 parity should be used to support the 

 Government's commitment to maintain 

 prices. 



2. Wheat quotas will probably not be 

 needed for the coming year. 



3.. Legislation is adequate if quotas 

 are needed. 



Cotton 



1 . There is adequate legislation to meet 

 the support price program for cotton. 



2. Government loans should be con- 

 tinued at 921/^ per cent of parity. 



3. The export subsidy program on cot- 

 ton should be retained. 



4. It is impossible at the present time 

 to say whether marketing quotas on cot- 



ton will be necessary for the forthcoming 

 crop year. 



Soybeans 

 1. The Secretary of Agriculture should 

 call a conference of representative soy- 

 bean growers throughout the major soy- 

 bean producing area and representatives 

 of the Department of Agriculture. In 

 this conference the representatives of the 

 Department of Agriculture will be asked 

 to anticipate the over-all and competitive 

 situation affecting soybeans for the next 

 year. Out of this conference a program 

 will be developed and support prices for 

 the coming year should be announced. 

 It is anticipated that the acreage planted 

 in 1946 will be largely determined by the 

 level of support prices. 



Fruits and Vegetables 



1 . There should be developed an estab- 

 lished policy in regard to foreign trade 

 outlets. This includes a program of 

 Government purchase for resale abroad, 

 and also means for opening the channels 

 of trade to private enterprise. 



2. A purchasing disposal program 

 should be developed by the Government 

 whereby they can effectively control and 

 prevent seasonal gluts upon the market. 



3. Marketing agreements should be 

 modified to provide for research and 

 other facilities which the industry may 

 use to develop and recapture domestic 

 markets lost during the war through the 

 Government's requisition. 



Annual Crops 



1. The government should be prepared 

 to conduct a purchase and disposal pro- 

 gram in order to take care of seasonal 

 gluts. 



2,. Wherever practicable marketing 

 agreements should be used in order to 



Members oi the AFBF delegation to Wash- 

 ington are shown during their Tisit with 

 President Truman. Left to right: W. R. 

 Ogg, AFBF; Flake Shaw, N. C„- R. E. Short, 

 Ark.; lAA President Earl C. Smith; Ransom 

 Aldrich, Miss.; H. L. Wingate, Ga.; AFBF 

 President O'Neal; President Truman; H. E. 



Slusher, Mo„- Herbert Voorhees, N. I.: H. I. 

 King. Wyo.; AFBF Secretary R. B. Corbett; 

 W. W. Howley. N. Yj AUan Kline. la.; 

 Donald Kirkpatrick. AFBF; Frank White. 

 Minnj Haasil Sehenck, Ind., and J. F. 

 Porter, Tenn. They also yisited Secretary 

 oi Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson. 



I. A. A. RECORD 



