President Gives Congress Farm Message
'On Thursday of last week,
President Eisenhower sent his
farm message to Congress
Pointing out that the people of
the nation are living in a world
of rapid change, he said that
the changes are as evident in
agriculture as in labor, industry,
refense or education
“A century ago, an American
farm worker fed himself and
three others Today he feeds
ago our population was 82 per
cent rural Today it is only one
third rural and only 12 per cent
of our population actually live
on farms,” the President said
(He called the scientific revolu
tion in agriculture “irreversible
and continuing.”
“It cannot be avoided and it
need hot be feared,” he added
The President pointed out the
following soft spots in the farm
economy.
“Rising production costs con
tinue to limit net farm income
“Acreage controls have failed
to bring agricultural production
into line. '
‘‘Large numbers of rural peo
ple have not benefited from
price supports, nor hvae they
benefitted as they should from
the great changes in agriculture
“Price supports 'have scant
meaning to a farmer with little
to sell
Here is the complete text of
the Presidents recommendations
to Congress for legislative ac
tion
Basic agricultural legislation
now on the book was originally
devised as an emergency effort
to cope with a depression, then
changed to help fight a war, and
subsequently revised again in an
effort to meet the needs of peace.
P feel’ll-
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It has not been adequately modi
fied to deal with the effects of
the technological revolution in
agriculture This must now be
done
It is essential that the follow
ing major steps be taken this
year to improve the status of
rural people in greatest need,
provide more freedom, expand
to aid agricultural adjustment
markets, and, thereby, to help
raise farm family income
First The Conservation Re
serve Program of the Soil Bank
should be strengthened, and the
Acreage Reserve Program ter
mmated after the 1958 crop
The Conservation Reserve has
shown promise m retiring margi
nal acres from crop production,
in aiding the cause of conserva
tion, and in taking whol - ' farms
is wholly voluntary and must re
out ot production The program
mam so
Because of its late enactmept,
the Acreage Reserve Program
was hampered during 1956 ir
achieving production adjustment
And although the 1957 program
succeeded m educing wheat pro
duction by about 175 million
bushels cotton by 2 million bales,
and coin by 220 million bushels
below what it would otherwise
have been, the numbei of farm
ers participating in 1958 is like
ly to be low, in part because of
'limitations that Congress im
posed on the extent of participa
tion by any one farm So in the
future the production adjustment
accomplished by the Acreage
Reserve is likely to be small
Furthermore, there are large
lumbers of mral peaple who
have not benefitted fiom price
supports Nor have they bene
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Large. »
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R. D, 5, LEBANON, PA.
filed as they should from the
great changes underway m agn
culture In fact, some have ibeen
put at a competitive disadvantage
by the onrush of farm technol
ogv and other economic changes
This is true not only in partic
ular rural areas of low income
but for some people in almost
every farm community There
are millions of rural people who,
for reasons of small farms, poor
soils, limited resources, age, in
adequate credit, lack of educa
tion, poor health or insufficient
managerial ability, have been un
able to make the adiustments
called for bv modern technology
Few of the dollars spent on
agricultural programs have been
of appreciable help to this group
Price supports have scant
meaning to a farmer with little
to sell
Reductions in acreage to sup
port higher prices are contrary
to the needs of a farmer whose
production is already too small
to give him a proper livelihood
In my special agricultural mes
sage four years ago, I indicated
that the Secretary of Agriculture
would give attention to the prob
lems peculiar to farm families
with low incomes As a result
the Rural Development Program
was initiated It is widening op
poll unities for those mral people
on the lower lungs of the eco
nomic ladder
We should now shift the em
phasis of the Soil Bank awav
from the shortterm Acreage Re
serve, aimed at reducing sur
pluses of particular crops to the
longterm Conservation Reserve
aimed at overall production ad
lustment
This change will aid all farm
ers, especially the lowmcome
farmer, who will, if he desires
be better able to retire his entire
farm fiom production
Expansion of the Conservation
Reserve will be an effective in
strument of adiustment only if
it is accompanied by needed
changes in price supports II
must not become merely a means
of offsetting the production stim
ulus supplied by price supports
held continually at incentive lev
els
The Budget Message recom
mends a Conservation Reserve
Program of 5450 million for the
1959 calendar year
Second Authontv to increase
acreage allotments for cotton
wheal, uce peanuts and tobacco
should be piovidcd nder present
legislation acreage allotments
and price supports foi certain of
the basic ciops aie determined
b\ legal foimulas nder these
loimulas allotments have al
i ead\ been cut sharply Allot
ments foi ceitain crops arc like
h to be i educed even further,
despite givowing evidence that
acreage icstnctions have not
brought about needed adiust
ments
Authority should be provided
foi the Secretary of Agriculture
in aecoidance with ciitena which
the Secretary will proposed to
the Congress to inciease allot
ments up to 50 per cent above
the levels detci mined by existing
foi mulas
The law already species that
the Secretary may provide price
support at levels abo\e those de
termmed b\ formula, and this
authority has been used The
to increase acreage allotments
law should also provide authority
when the statistical formula
yields results clearlv contrary to
the general interest But am
acreage increases must be related
to price adiustmcnts which will
permit the growth of markets
necessai\ to absoib the increased
production
Such hbci ahzation of acrea
age allotments as is possible
tvould permit greater efficiency
and higher income for small
farmers who now are sharpß
restricted in the sue of then
operations
Third Acieage allotments foi
corn should be eliminated The
com program has not worked
Huge surpluses have accumulated
As surpluses rise present legis
lation provides that allotments
must shrink As allotments
Lancaster Farming, Friday, Jan. 24, 1958
shrink, participation in the corn
program dwindles A year ago
62 per cent of the corn farmers
who voted in the referendum
favored the elimination of corn
acreage allotments In 1957, only
about 14 per cent of the corn
production in the commercial
corn area was eligible tor the full
price support Thus, as allot
ments shrink, participation spirals
downward, and price-depressing
surpluses spiral upward
Fourth The esculator clauses
m the basic law should be abol
ished Provisions now in the law
require that price supports be
raised as soon as the surplus is
reduced This means that as one
suiplus is moved, incentives are
automatically provided to build
another ntil this basic law is
changed, farm people can expect
to be kept continually under the
shadow of price-depressing sur
pluses
The Soil Bank and surplus dis
posal programs have already cut
deeply enough into our surplus
to throw these escalator clauses
into action to build more sur
pluses Elimination ol these es
calator clauses is necessaiy if
surplus disposal progiams* and
the Soil Bank aie to achieve their
purpoe
Fifth The overall range with
in which prtce suppoits may be
provided should be substantially
widened Piesentlv price sup
ports must be provided b\ rigid
formula, for cotton, wheat, corn
nee peanuts tobacco and dairy
cent of parity This lange is too
products between 75 and SO pei
narrow to permit the growth of
markets needed to absorb the
production which, despite acre
age controls, our faims appeal
certain to produce Price sup
ports for the above-named com
modities should be determined
administratively between 60 per
cent and 90 per cent of parity
using the eight guidalmes now
provided by law for practically
all other commodities This
needed chnge in pnce-suppoi t
keeps
the world within
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policy would open the door to
market expansion, increased
acreage allotments and greater
freedom to produce
For commodities like the feed
grains, with respect to which the
Secretary of Agriculture has had
wide discretion in the past, price
support has been offered at lev
els as high as could be lustied
under the criteria specied by law
This will be the Secretary’s prac
tice under the recommended leg
islation
Sixth Price supports for cot
ton should be based on the aver
aga quality ot the crop For cot
ton the law specifies that sup
ports must be based on a grade
that is tar below the average
quality The law should be cor
reeled to put cotton price sup
ports on the same basis as foi
all other crops
Seventh The membership of
the Commodity Credit Corpora
tion Advisory Board shouud be
enlarged and the Board’s respon
sibihties increased The recom
mended changes in determining
(Continued on page 14)
Leghorn Chicks
For Large White Egg*
DONEGAL
WHITE CROSS
For Broiler Chicks
"Direct from the Breeder”
Phone Mt. Joy OL 3-4911
Commonwealth Telephone
Company
Dallas, Pa.
MUSSER
MOUNT JOY, PA. «
v -i" J
Quarryville, Pa.
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