Emphasis Placed On Nation’s Farm Surplus Questioned THE READER MAY well recall how the allegedly huge size of our farm sur pluses has been constantly publicised. Day after day for years these surpluses were held forth as the villain in the agricultural woodpile Well, anyway just how big are those surpluses’ Dr. W. M Meyers, President of the American Society of Agronomy in an ad dress before its annual meeting at Purdue University said- “Our farm production ex ceeds consumption by only 3 or 4 per cent. This is indeed a narrow margin and we must always, if we can, retain a small margin over our heads." The direct conflict between this lead ing agronomist in Ins appraisal of farm sur pluses. and that of high officials of the U S D A and some leaders of farm organi zations is at once apparent He spoke as a Scientist with high re gal’d for facts when he emphasized the size of the surpluses in relation to consumption. Too often those in chief policy making positions in government and farm organi zations allow their economic and political philosophies to dictate their appraisal of economic facts. This has been true to an unusual de gree during the past few years We have only to recall the recurring news items furnished by such"leaders emphasizing the huge size of these surpluses giving in de tail the billions of dollars of the taxpayers money used to finance their storage The blame for sui pluses—which were regarded as evil—was invariably placed on the farm piograms, especially price supports. Leading Agronomists ai e on record at tributing the steady growth,in farm output of the last 15 vears to the farm “technologi cal revolution ” Price supports at best were PENNSYLVANIA’S SWINE INDUSTRY can cope with cm rent changes in agri cultuie provided hog laisers produce qual ity meat-tvp'e hogs, it^prove their efficiency and enlarge their operations This reassurance was given by mdus tiv spokesmen at a recent statewide swine meeting conducted by livestock extension I ' THIS WEEK I j: —lit Washington | Jrv' With Clmton Davidson \SA Ji the new f arm law 5 Davidson Kami piogiam admimsliators o.ds. barley rye and giain sor m Washington this week aie try- ghums shall be supported at mg to sohe the tann law piurle puces ‘fan in lelation to the which the 85th Congicss tossed feed value of corn” into then lap lust neioie lea. mg Congress left it up to the Secie luwn tar. to make the decision as to The new law calls, toi change- the support sate that would be in piogiams aflcctmg coin col fair” Support oflicials estimate lon nee oats, baric. rvc and tnat will be about ’ 880 abu fo> giain soighums It sets up a whole ( ats SI 25 a bu for bailee, $1 70 nev set ol iulcs and regulations « bu foi rve and $2 50 a cwt for lot groweis ol those commod'- giain sorghums Two Cotton Piogiams VgntuiUne Dcpaitmeiu offi- _, , „ c als ha.c not so la. been abl’ 1 ht ' ‘ ,w ca ,s f t< make an estimate ol how much c °“ on a lot ™" ’ starting in the new p.ogram will cost or how 3w9 lbdl s dboul 3 °" , undel tbls much it ma\ add to ahead, laige ( ’ ,O ' VCIS W)1 (r choosc bc '‘ sm pluses lima, be weeks befo. e tvten ' cn , ?£° lenl pro ' n oliicial jiUeipietalion ol the g"™* m 1909 and 1960 law is a.ailable Piogiam A sa.s that if they 11 i- at best a mak( sftift pio r'- nl withui their allotment the ji’am involving mam inmpro t'uvci nment will buv then cotton niW' Conm essmen we have talk dl &o't o( parity a national aver :fi with do not ague on iust vvh.u ‘‘ge °* about 36 cents a pound tin progiam is intended lo do '1 in \ volid I.n n because lhe\ 1< ll it was llu best that Was pio po'-cd ( oi n Vllotmeuls Out I Im n< w pi o'4i am abandons lolls allii mam coats to tor ol (lit dui,i»i planted in coin heu will hi no com allotments at tin;, in 1959 I he stippoil iaO ’Hu net pio”idm continues the i ational allotment at 1 6 million 'ies and peimils the Sen elan l,un lo s(( supports aimvheie between Jlk law sacs however that no 75', ,ukl 90', of panic m 1959 d ports shall he less than 65'- .ml 1960 then drops supports to panic Thai will be some when 7 II'. of panic in 1.961 and to ai SI 15 a bushel m 1959 I' by, ofpaiif in 1962 and Iheie o\ ick s that othci ftcel juains— a'ler ) Ik sit b. the Societal \ of Agn ultuic will apple to all tom ★ * I’iogram ‘B peimits them to ocei plant then allotment bv up to 40' < and set price supports at hj'< of panic about 31p a pound in 1959 and 1960 onh Altei 1960 a'l yiocveis would ha\e to plant within their allotments to !>et sup oorls at 70'< ol panic in 1961 and 65'. theieaftci only one of many, factors causing surpluses —certainly not the chief cause. At no time in recent years—if ever— have the consumers of food and fiber been taken on such a fanciful propaganda ride as that which has been powered by these distorted interpretations of the size and significance of our farm surpluses. Largely because of this 3 or 4 per cent surplus the Consumer today can buy more . Business •* » » sin to be rich? staple foods with an hour s income than at uwu 111 DBeiawa any time during the past 4 or 5 decades ll0 ™ e S 'SfST II is the farmer—who takes It in the lesson tor September 14. 1958 that some readers 0 f ,t have the pocketbook and in the chin when he pro- impiession that God condemns rich duces above consumption This largely be- \^/’ HERE can we 611(1 God? in people just because they are rich cause we have used the results of millions , , chu «:h, yes; m the great out- This is not tiue A moie careful . r . „„ „r, of-doors, yes. In prayer in the quiet reading shows that whenever a of dollars and many years of research rn room, or under the mighty far-ofl wealthy pei son IS denounced in the teaching him how to produce 2 blades of stars. God is everywhere. name of God, is isn’t because of his grass, 2 ears of corn and 2 bushels of pota- But is God in business ?We don’t wealth, by Itself. There are too toes wbye one grew before, but left him mean. God doing business 7He many highly-praised persons of with little help in marketing his greatlv aiways 1S > of course. Ws mean, is wealth in the Bible to allow us to inrrpnspd urndiipp God m the busi- believe that wealth is a sin, period i c eub u p uuuce- ness life of our The point is not-How much do you Cooperative marketing has helped time? Is he on have 9 or. What is the amount, in greatly in some fields, but m fields where the stock ex- dollars, which is the limit a good the surpluses are greatest, they are inade- chan & e - 13 he m Christian can have 1 ’ The point is qua^e attendance at How did you get what you hate? 1 r' . . , board meetings of Jesus’ brother James calls down In appraising the meaning and value great corpora- doom on certain rich farmeis, not Of OUr 3 to 4 per cent farm surplus let tions, is,he m the because they had money but be- US take account of the millions of hungry little country cause their wealth was gained by people in other lands who have been fed stores, is he in their hired men Mak hpraiisp of it horse trades or Foreman mg money by making men poor is , ~ , , on used-car lots? “The Economy” stealing, and sin Consumers will regret the day when is a phrase used so often nowadays our food surpluses turn into deficiencies, that even teen-agers must know m ,s ,hls s P ,rit possible? When that occurs food prices rise sharply, general what it means. "The Econ- Saint Peter gives us what is We hope to see the day when the farmer ° my ” 13 today’s jargon for all the better than a rule- he tells us the too can rejoice in a surplus such as we now dustnai ou £ r,ght kwd of spint that a Christian J 1 austnal and agricultural wheels ought to have Our gifts, he writes a mu *. , „ t, , ~ going, the word includes those four are to be employed “for one That day Will come when we have the Pdlars of all business anywhere another,” service is to be rendered courage to plan such use of our farm sur- 3111 time: production, marketing, in such as to glorify God We all pluses, and the dedicated will to see to it and dnance Is God in feel that this IS the right spirit for that these surpluses shall not destroy the onomy o menca. “church woik” But is it practic market for the entire crop. Sim P ,e H » n «»y Jl " “ !‘ S same sp T* The Farmer’s Exchange Now lfc be that not a reader ,f n '" h V n h OU ■ econ ° ra,c llf t e 7ls me rarmeis LXCnange of this column IS a “business man ” „ possible, in business transactions, For all that, every reader is en- t 0 S6IVe one another for the S lor y gaged in busmes/somo way or of God - This « a v!tal question If other part of the time “Money isn’t b f V ® tC Say No ’ 11 ,s nat prac ' at Penn State University Attending were everything, but money’s into every- tlcable - then we ate saying that we breeders feeders and packers thin s ”w we i,ve, breathe and eat ® an be c f hnstian oJlly in , ° ur le T l j ;ure Howard 'W’hite, Allentown packer, said Z\lTwtfotZy. “ aron^S the homemaker IS demanding quality — less mg, selling, owning, renting earn- the CIOCk ’ throu g hout the week, fatty — pork He warned that unless they mg, spending (yes and wastm- then we shall have to thmk ou t shift to the meat-type hog they Will lose which is economics gone mad), all ™ we can carry this fqvnr with ronqumprs Packers hp qaid of which we lump together imder spirit devotion to God and man Lavoi Wltn consumei S packers, ne sam, the head of “The Lonomy” ormst mto the dollars-and-cents world. will pay a premium for the meatier animals “economic hfe” 3 not Can lt: be done ° Each reader 13 8 ■ of something big, something a con- challenged to mako the experiment. gressman might plan for. Let us (Based on outlines copyrighted by 2 T „ • think Of economics on Mam Street n*e Division of Christian Education. S Lancaster Jr arming at the sunprmnrlrot __ . ’ National Council of the Churches oi ts ac cne supermarket, on the bus, Christ in the USA. Released by maybe our few dollars at the bank Comnrnnity Press Service.) Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly forget about the hundred : Alfied C Alspach Publisher, Dun dollar bills and thmk about small ★ ★ ★ McGrow, Editor, Robert G Campbell, Advertising Director, Robert J Wiggins, Circulation Director Established November 4, 1955 Published every Friday by OCTORARO NEWSPAPERS, Quarry ville. Pa IfcT » m> fTI* Phone SXerlmg; 6-2112 or Lancaster, £ IHI6 Entered as Second-Class matter at the Post Office, QuarryviUe, Pa, uawler Act of March 3, 1879 Subscription Rates- $2 per year, three years $5, Single copy Price 5 cents. A Big Role During a 70-year life time, an aveiage American consumes 6,000 loaves of bread, three oxen, four calves, four sheep, 300 chickens- 12,000 pounds of vegetables, 9,000 pounds of potatoes, 14,000 pounds of fiuit. 6,000 quarts ot milk, 5,000 eggs, 8,000 pounds of sugar, 2 000 pounds of cheese, all of which came from Ameri ca’s 4,782 393 farms And then some people have the nerve to say the farmer isn’t an impoitant segment ol our population Express 4-3047 “Volts and Jolts”, REA Paper 4—Lancaster Farming, Friday, September 12, 1958 or "Thou shalt not steal unless thou Bibl* Material: Exodus 20 13, Leviticus canst get by with it”' Taking any 6 4, 25 35-38, Deuteronomy 25 13-16, kind of advantage of any other per- ’ 5 •l-'s Peter’ 4/7-n son <° r corporation, foi that mat- Devotional Keathiiff: Mlcah 6 9-15 ter * So that tll€y are tlie P oorer for _ what you did, is stealing ★★★ ★ ★ By MAX SMITH County Agricultinal Agent Max Smith obtained TO BE CAREFUL OF SILO OAS Dining silo Idling time it is lecommenciecl that opcratois be cautious about entering a partly Idled sdo without running the blower lor seveial minutes Over night fermentation 0 i the newly chopped crop sometimes provides a chance for the gas to id] the sdo and the silo chute Coin that has been heavily fei tilled with nitiogen in a veiv diy yeai is more likely to be dangerous Care should always be evtcised during the idling operation c ’ 10 MAKE QUALITY SILAGE The Kind ol silage lhal is taken trom the sdo next wmtei laigelv depends upon the kind ot forage ci op that went into the sdo this sun.mei oi fall Also the presence of adequate moistuie is necessaiv l o r pioper packing and ferment a tion If the oop is dry, oi has been hosted and diy then it may be nccessai \ to add water at the blowei dining the tiding operation 10 PRACTICE SAFETY The tall months usuallv find some of our noie dangcious machines in operation that is if th" operators aic not piacticmg all safely measures The silage choppers and the corn pickers wairant all safely piecautions m order to pre vent miury Usually we don’t lake time to be perfectly safe. TO TREAT SEED GRAIN Plant licated seeds foi winter giams lor improved stands, bigger yields, and better quality Growers using their own crop for seed should use one of the recom mended treatments, the use of chemicals or hot water will give good results An Extension Leaf let is available on the sublet TO KILL POTATO VINES Both research and experience has shown that chemical vine killers give more eflicient killing of vines that mechani cal beatig Most el lective chemicals aie sodium aiscnite and the di-nitro compounds The chemi cal should be applied with the icgulai sprayer about 10 days to two weeks pnoi to harvest Bet lei npcning and skin-set of the potatoes will be change Are we honest about all the*e things ? Does our religion affect the way we price what we have to sell (if only a few eggs or halos of hay) ? Do we make honest state ments about what wo buy and sell ’ The command of God is: “Thou shall not steal ” Nothing said about “Thou shalt not steal a whole lot, ’
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers