ILLINOIS FARMERS 



Cooperative Sales, Farm Bureau Membership, Farm Harvests Reach All-Time Highs 



THE 1948 annual meeting of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association 

 recorded a year of new successes 

 for Illinois farmers, their coopera- 

 tives and other organizations. 

 Durint; the year membership and 

 sales bounded upward in all lines of 

 endeavor and individual farmers re- 

 ported the greatest harvest in their 

 memories. 



The 3-ith annual meeting drew thou- 

 sands of farmers to the general sessions 

 and conferences held at the Hotel Sher- 

 man in Chicago. 



But the bountiful harvest which 

 moved the western world to slap the 

 Midwest-ern farmer on the back in 

 gratitude, was the very thing which 

 caused him to look to the future with 

 some apprehension. Bountiful harvests 

 meant lower prices. 



He listened, therefore, with a great 

 deal of interest to the explanations of 

 the long-range farm program which 

 will take effect on Jan. 1, 1950. Two 

 of the strong supporters of the farm 

 program spoke during the lAA con- 

 vention — Senator George D. Aiken 

 of Vermont, sponsor of the bill, and 

 Prof. H. C. M. Case, head of the de- 

 partment of agricultural economics. 

 University of Illinois, who attended all 

 Senate hearings on the bill. 



Sen. Aiken explained that the law as 

 enacted is based on "two principle ob- 

 jectives which our great farm organiza- 

 tions and the U. S. Department of Ag- 

 riculture have sought for years; that is, 

 (1) revision of the parity formula, anil 

 (3) the establishment of flexible floors 

 under farm prices. 



The act still retains the 1909-14 base 

 period for computing parity but pro- 

 vides for adjustments reflecting price 

 conditions that have prevailed during 



the latest 10-year period. 



The flexible floor objective provides 

 for rising and falling prices based on 

 supply. For instance, when supply 

 reaches 130 per cent of normal, sup- 

 port drops to 6o per cent of parity; 

 when supply drops to 70 per cent of 

 normal then support rises to 90 per 

 cent ot parity. 



In his annual report to the member- 

 ship, lAA President Charles B. Shuman 

 contradicted statements of several la- 

 bor leaders that the November election 

 was a clear mandate to the administra- 

 tion to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act. 



"Farmers" President Shuman said, 

 "recognize that the decision of the peo- 

 ple reflected the thinking of American 

 citizens on many different issues. We 

 do not recognize any clear mandate to 

 turn backward. 



"We will continue to insist that leg- 

 islative action be constructive. We will 

 continue to aggressively support the 

 essential and constructive features of 

 the Taft-Hartley labor relations law." 



Shuman again expres.sed the Farm 

 Bureau stand against price controls: 

 "We reiterate our opposition to the re- 

 turn of unworkable federal price-con- 

 trol legislation. . . . We insist that we 

 move in the direction of less rather than 

 more government controls. We will 

 continue to insist that our system of 

 free enterprise in America is preferable 



Copies of talks made at the lAA 

 annual meeting by Sen. Aiken, 

 Dr. Smith, Dr. Case, President 

 Shuman, and Ransom Aldrich 

 may be obtained by addressing 

 the lAA Record, 43 East Ohio, 

 Chicago 11, 111. 



to a governmentally-reguiated socialis- 

 tic economy." 



Other questions which highlighted 

 the work of the resolutions committee 

 included a request that the board of di- 

 rectors take action "to obtain construc- 

 tive revision of our state constitution;" 

 opposition to daylight saving time; a 

 request for action on the construction of 

 buildings to house the home economics, 

 veterinary medicine, and agricultural 

 engineering departments at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois; a request that teachers 

 be required to take conservation train- 

 ing and that it be taught in our public 

 schools; announcement that the As- 

 sociation will support an increase in the 

 state gasoline tax if an equitable portion 

 is earmarked for use on farm-to-high- 

 way roads and bridges; more state aid 

 for schools; and higher premium 

 awards for 4-H boys and girls to "stim- 

 ulate future growth and development 

 of 4-H club work." (See Resolutions on 

 page 12). 



President Shuman issued a warning 

 to labor and industry when he said: 

 "If present cost and price trends con- 

 tinue they will result in a repetition of 

 the 1929 business disaster. 



"Farmers," he said, "are now faced 

 with a situation very similar to the con- 

 ditions which prevailed after the first 

 World War. Farm prices are falling 

 rapidly while all other costs and prices 

 rise. Unless checked soon this two-way 

 trend can have but one result — a repe- 

 tition of the disaster which befell the 

 nation in 1929." 



Following a discussion of the exten- 

 sion of Farm Bureau service privileges 

 to associate members in the special Farm 

 Bureau presidents-farm advisers meet- 

 ing, it was decided to postpone the 



I. A. A. RECORD 



