Shuman Says Farmers Want
Profit-Oriented Business
I ‘‘lt is time to change agricul
ture from a subsidy-oriented to
a profit-oriented business,”
Charles B. Shuman, president of
the American Farm Bureau
Federation, said recently in his
annual address to the 49th an
nual meeting of the Federation
held m Chicago.
The head of the nation’s larg
est general farm organization
W ith a membership of more than
1,700,000 families in 49 states
and Puerto Rico, said that gov
ernment farm control, direct
payment and price support pro
grams are being used to-hold
farm prices down and to force
farmers to accept payments in
lieu of the full market price.
“Approximately 20 percent of
net farm income,” he repoited,
‘ now comes from direct subsidy
payments from the federal trea
sury and col ton farmers get al
most half of their total crop re
turns from this source.
I “American agriculture has
Jyeen rapidly converted by the
’Gieat Society planners and poli
ticians to a subsidy-oriented
business. It is time for a change.
Fanners want their industry
piofit-oriented,” he said.
The national farm leader said
that there is good reason to be
lieve that with proper transi
tional protection against dump
ing of government-held commo
dity stocks and other tempoiary
hazards, government farm pro
grams could be terminated
‘ quite rapidly with market
gams rather than losses accru
ing to farmers.”
Shuman termed “ridiculous”
statements by Secretary of Agri
culture Orville Freeman and
others that the 1967 surplus
giam production and farm
EIV
YO
LEG
TENDER LOVING CARE...
price disaster is a sample of
what would happen with a no
contrBls-free market operation
in agriculture.
“The wheat and feed gram
production binge of 1967 was
not a product of the free mar
ket, but must be charged to the
mistakes of the Administration
in promoting an extensive ‘feed
the hungry world’ campaign
coupled with rosy price predic
tions,” he said.
“Farmers feel,” he added,
“with some justification, that
they were double crossed I am
confident that producers can,
and would, balance production
with effective market demand at
acceptable prices under a mar
ket system. Producers of live
stock (which has no government
supply-management programs),
and soybeans (which generally
have sold for more than the sup
port price) have repeatedly de
monstrated an ability to operate
under a market system ”
Shuman pointed out that the
disastrous farm price collapse
of 1967 occurred with “the cost
ly and complicated farm pro
grams that were supposed to
bring prosperity to farmers in
full operation” and the pro
grams were being run by an
Administration pledged to make
them work.
“We are completing the har
vest of the largest crop in his
tory, produced at the highest
cost on recoid, and selling at
the lowest prices in a decade
“Those who have been pre
dicting that farmers would
drown in a sea of surplus pro
duction with depression-level
prices, if fann programs were
ended, must be embarrassed to
discover that this result has
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LANCASTER CENTERVILLE LANDISVILLE LITITZ
MANHEIM TOWNSHIP MILLERSVILLE ROHRERSTOWN
MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
A Trustee for The Lancaster Counl> Foundation
Ag Teachers
Hold Monthly
Business Meet
The Lancaster County Agri
cultural Teachers held their
legular monthly meeting at the
Pequea Valley High School on
Thursday afternoon.
Ivan Yost, Regional Young
Farmer vice president, asked
that all clubs in the county pay
state dues to make the associa
tion stronger.
Henry Givler, area director,
said 528 county members are
paid in the National and State
PFiA Association.
The local association’s budget
was discussed and accepted.
Distribution Of 4-H
Shorthorn Calves Set
For Today At 1 P.M.
Distribu'i'tm of S h o rth o r n
calves foi members of the Red
Rose 4-H Baby Beef and Lamb
Club wi'l be at 1 p m Saturday
at the Mylm R Good farm, Man
heim Rl.
been achieved under the Great
Society’s supply - management
programs. The parity ratio, a
measuring stick that tells how
t mei s are doing, has dropped
to 73 percent as compared with
71 percent m 1934 in the depths
of the depression,” he said.
The Federation president al
so said that the Administration’s
policy of holding down market
prices and making supplemental
payments to farmers as a par
tial offset to low prices repre
sents a brand of “protectionism”
that is jeopardizing America’s
faun export market.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 6, 1968
Farmers Invited To
Management Meetings
Jay W liwm, assistant agri
cultural agent, thus week mint
ed farmeis to attend a senes ot
three meetings on faun man
agement The meeting informa
tion as as follows
"January 10 “Pennsylvania’s
Agricultural Electiome Records
Program” Information concern
ing this modern record-keeping
system that is easy to learn, in
expensive, flexible and confi
dential TIME Bpm PLACE
Penn Manor High School Agm
cultural Dept, Mi llei s v He,
SPEAKER William Dickinson,
Farm Management Extension,
Penn State University
January 11— ‘ Farm Transfer
Arrangements ” Partnei ships &
CompatAAty - Installment
Sales - Tax Advantages - Coi-
Make the most of your
home grown grains with::;
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your home-grown grains to build a dairy ration that
can help increase milk production.
That’s because Purina Cow Chow Concentrate 32%
provides highly digestible well-balanced protein ...
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You’ll find, too, that combining
your grain with Cow Chow Con
centrate 32% according to a
Purina research-approved Check-
R-Mix formula can help keep feed
ing costs low. Stop in or call us
about the services we offer.
West Willow Formers
Assn., Inc.
Ph: 464-3431
West Willow
John J. Hess, 11, Inc.
Ph: 442-4633
Paradise
Iro B. Landis
Ph: 569-0531
779 Valley Road, Lancaster
LOW COST PRODUCTION.. •
the reason more dairymen feed PURINA
poi ate Farms TIME 8 pm:
PLACE Farm Ciedit Building,
411 W Roseville Road, Lancas
ter, SPEAKER Fred Hughes,
Farm Management Extension,
Penn State Umveisity
Januaiy 25—“ Legal Problems
with Wills, Estates and Farm
Tiansfers” Why Plan an Es
tate’ - Death and Gift Taxes -
Why Bcthei with a Will’ Time
Bpm, PLACE Farm Ci edit
Building, 411 W Roseville Road,
Lancastei, SPEAKER Edwai d
Pawkck, Extension Service At
torney, Yoik
“The murlbei of questions re
lating to these topics indicated
a need for these meetings We
hope you’ll attend and feel free
to mvite any of youi friends
and neighbors to come with
you,” Irwin said
It’s not the initial skirt length,
it’s the up-cieep
PURINA
SERVICE
Wenger's Feed Mil!,
Inc.
Ph: 367-1195
Rheems
James High & Sons
Ph: 354-0301
Gordonville
John B. Kurtz
Ph: 354-9251
R. D. 3, Ephrata
9