HIere's M Posititn m ii 



FARM BUREAU ASKS THAT BUTTER-MARGARINE IDENTITIES BE RETAINED AND EMPHASIZED 



Following is a statement presented by 

 Homer W. Curtiss of Stockton, III., mem- 

 ber of the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion board of directors and chairman of 

 the lAA marketing committee. The state- 

 ment was given Friday, March 12 in 

 Washington before the Committee on 

 Agriculture of the U.S. House of Repre- 

 sentatives. It represents the attitude of 

 the lAA on the current butter-margarine 

 controversy. 



M' 



•Y NAME is H. W. Curtiss, of 

 Stockton, Illinois. I am a gen- 

 eral farmer and operate 400 

 acres. From this farm I sell ap- 

 proximately 100 gallons of milk 

 daily. On this farm I also grow an aver- 

 age of 30 acres of soybeans each year. I 

 am appearing here on behalf of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association, of which I 

 am a member of the board of directors 

 and chairman of its marketing committee. 

 The Illinois Agricultural Association is 

 a general farm organization and has 

 more than 150,000 members. Illinois is 

 a prominent dairy state and ranks fifth 

 in the United States in milk production. 

 Last year five and one-half billion pounds 

 of milk was produced on Illinois farms. 

 Illinois is also a large producer of soy- 

 beans. 



In 1947, Illinois produced 35.96 per 

 cent of the total national soybean produc- 

 tion. Cooperative marketing associations 

 affiliated with the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association last year handled 2,625,000,- 

 000 pounds of milk and in excess of 

 15,000,000 bushels of soybeans. 



Therefore, it is obvious that our 

 organization is interested in this proposed 

 legislation as it affects the general welfare 

 of agriculture and we are not representing 

 either the dairy or the soybean producers 

 to the exclusion of one or the other. 

 Many of our members are producers of 

 both dairy products and soybeans, as is 

 the case on my own farm. Being in this 

 position, we are vitally interested in the 

 butter-oleomargarine issue and have given 

 it careful and considerate attention during 

 the past several years. 



The board of directors of our organi- 



Homer W. Curtiss 



zation has very recently had a thorough 

 discussion on the proposed changes in 

 taxes upon oleomargarine and on Jan. 

 16, 1948 adopted a resolution taking the 

 following position: 



"We will not oppose teinovtil of' 

 taxes on oieoooargariae, pro- 

 vided some odier means of pre- 

 serving die identification as be- 

 tween the two products is de- 

 veloped." 



This action commits us to oppose all 

 bills at this time now pending before 

 Congressional committees dealing with 

 the oleomargarine question, as it is our 

 understanding that they do not provide 

 adequate means of identification between 

 butter and oleomargarine. In Illinois we 

 have a positive identification provided 

 by state law, which prohibits the sale of 

 oleomargarine that is colored to imitate 

 butter. 



We are interested, however, in national 

 legislation as our farm products, both 

 dairy and soybeans, move far beyond 

 Illinois and are affected by national 

 economic conditions. We feel strongly 

 that the best interests of all farmers, 

 including dairymen, soybean producers 



and cotton producers, would be pro- 

 tected by legislation of the type we sug- 

 gest. 



The general farm is the predominant 

 type in Illinois and it is impossible to 

 divide our farmers into separate and 

 exclusive commodity groups. We be- 

 lieve that the following facts should be 

 considered in an analysis of this issue 

 as it affects agriculture as a whole: 



1. There is a very close relationship 

 between the wholesale price of butter 

 and the price received by farmers for 

 butterfat. There is no such relationship 

 between the wholesale price of oleomar- 

 garine and the price received by farmers 

 for soybeans. 



2. The price received by farmers for 

 their butterfat affects the amount of 

 money which dairy farmers have to 

 spend for soybean meal. When butterfat 

 prices are good, they are in a better 

 position to compete for the available 

 supply of soybean meal for feed. The 

 soybean market is thus strengthened. 



3. Soybean oil used in oleomargarine 

 contributes a relatiyely small per cent to 

 total farm income. On the other hand, 

 the price of butterfat has an important 

 affect upon total farm income as it directly 

 affects the prices, not only of butter, but 

 the price level for all dairy products, in- 

 cluding fluid milk. 



It appears that the oleomargarine in- 

 terests, in supporting the proposed legis- 

 lation to remove the taxes now imposed, 

 are interested primarily in making it 

 possible to substitute and sell oleomar- 

 garine on the merits and consumer accept- 

 ance of butter. 



Otherwise they would support legisla- 

 tion of the type we suggest which would 

 remove the tax, but provide for a positive 

 identification between the two products. 

 We believe that such identification pro- 

 vided by law would be fair to all interests 

 and would be in harmony with our 

 American ideal of fair competition. 



Farmers and consumers alike have de- 

 pended upon the recognized yellow color 

 of butter for their protection. It is as 

 important as any patent or copyright held 



(Continued on page 21) 



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L A. A. RECORD 



