Farming. Saturday, May 1,1971
President Nixon Declares Salute to
A talk by President Richard
M Nixon in the White House
Rose Garden was the highlight
of the 1971 annual Newspape,.
Faim Editors of America
(NFEA) Convention in Wash
ington D C. last week
President Nixon spent more
than a half hour with the Farm
Editors Besides the expected
explanation of why Farming is
vital to the national economy
and how farmers have been do
ing more than their sharr in
the fight against inflation, the
President took the occasion to
announce a special Salute to
Agriculture Day on May 7.
Leaders of American agricul
ture will be invited to the White
House for a reception and brief
ings on both agricultural and
general national issues. Plans
are to make the Agriculture Day
an annual event.
The President also chatted in
formally with the newsmen,
particularly commenting on the
drought which was underway in
the Texas-Oklahoma area. The
President shook hands with and
greeted each of the approxi
mately 40 farm editors. This
was followed by a tour of the
White House by a staff aide.
■Whereas the NFEA in the past
had difficulty even seeing the
President, the reception this
year was both friendly and repre
sented a generous amount of
time from the President's busy
schedule.
President Nixon talks during the meeting with Farm
Editors in the Rose Gardens last week. With him is Clifford
Hardin, U. S. Secretary of Agriculture. Looking on is S.
Archie Holdridge, Farm Editor of the Hartford Courant and
president of the Newspaper Farm Editors of America.
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President Nixon.
Emphasizing a Point
Secretary Hardin Speaks
Elsewhere at the NFEA con
vention, Clifford Hardin, U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture em
phasized the administration’s
record in getting a new high
level of farm exports and in
creasing participation m federal
food programs from 10 to 14
million persons since last year.
Commenting on the adminis
tiation’s recent action to in
crease the price support on milk
gl
Chicago Tribune. He greeted and chatted with each of the
visiting editors.
by 27 cents to a new level of
$4 93 per hundred for manufac
turing milk of average test,
Secretary Hardin said there is
general feeling that the dairy
industry is on the verge of
majoi surpluses which could ie
sult in senous downward pres
sures on milk puces over the
next year or two ”
But the Secretaiy added that it
takes a long time to expand
dairy herds and theie’s a greater
milk promotion effort under way
—factors which may help head
off surpluses
On the question of chemical
controls, Secretary Hardin in
dicated'there is a trend toward
making distinctions between
various types of chemicals
There ard some good but short
lived chemicals which are
dangerous to persons handling
them; it is felt that persons
using these should be licensed,
he said.
Hardin said farm groups need
Whitten Says Farmer Needs His
Share of the 'Fair Advantages'
Jamie Whitten. D-Mississippi.
House Appriprialions Commit
tee chairman, spoke on the need
to give the farmer “fair advan
tage” in the U.S. economy.
Whitten described the U. S
as a country of laws to give
fair advantages and he said
eiery gioup wants to dictate
what it considers to be fair
through the law.
“How can the farmer oe in
dependent when we have all
these laws to give labor and
other groups a competetive ad
vantage?” Whitten asked
He told the Newspaper Faira
Editor’s of America that trying
to get price by creating scarcity
is dangerous and that “that’s
what we’ve been preaching ”
Whitten also pointed out that
a high standard of living de
pends on the amount of time it
takes foi a person to get his
basics In this country only five
pei cent of the people are need
ed to provide these basics, leav
ing the other 95 per cent to do
other things, he said
But there’s a problem, he
said, in finding politicians who
will look after the five per cent
Noting that the last depression
started by breaking faim prices,
Whitten emphasized the impoi
tance of the faimer as a buyer
of chemicals, machinery and
other products If farm income
Agriculture Day Allay 7
Zane Wilson, Lancaster Farming managing editor, at
tended the annual convention of the Newspaper Farm Edi-
Sf„t Amem. (NFEA) to Washmgton, D.C, last weak.
The articles and pictures on these two pages are his
renort on that conference. They represent an attempt to
capture some of the highlights of the conference and spell
out fm local readers some of the thinking and policies of
top Washington officials which will be of importance and
interest to local people.
The annual NFEA Washington convention is designed
to give farm editors from across the nation an opportunity
to exchange ideas and to hear top agricultural officials out
line their programs and policies and to ask questions about
particular issues.
It’s always a special treat for the editors when the pre
sident of the United States agrees to receive them and it
iva<s an extra special treat this year when President Richard
spoke at length to the group in the White House Rose
Garden.
to be active politically, but-he
thinks farm groups sometimes
“should find something tjiat
goes down, businesses lose their
biggest customer and the whole
bottom falls out, according to
Whitten.
Commenting on the environ
mental issue, Whitten said it’s
easy to stir up public sentiment
but hard to get the job done. He
said the ACP (now (REAP) pro
giam is an example He said
Congress had to fight the execu
tive branch for 16 different
years to keep this environment
program
they could come in with one
voice on ”
It- was reported that the
USDA this summer -will issue
weekly reports on the extent of
the corn blight in an effort to
cut down on “the rumor mill”
and get the best possible factual
information to farmers on the
blight. -
' Hardin also said the assess
ment within the USDA oirtfae
blight potential in 1971 is that
farmers probably- win have otie
of two situations: - either a
drought without the disease -or
the disease without drought.
This is true because the-blight
thrives in moist conditions and
ic is felt' that extremely dry
weather may be needed to stop
the blight.
Commenting on in farm com
munities that the Extension ser
vice might be eliminated under
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