USDA claims farmers may now be optimistic
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
American farmers who
complained this past winter
about the nation’s farm
income situation had pretty
good reason to be
dissatisfied, says J. Dawson
Ahalt, economist with
USDA. Speaking in Dover,
Del. earlier this year he
said:
“Last fall average prices
received by producers had
dropped to levels of the early
1970’5. Prices paid by
producers, meanwhile, had
risen 40 per cent over the
same period. Realized net
income in 1977 fell to the
lowest level since 1972, and
the farm dept-to-income
ration was the highest ever.
But conditions have im
proved. Farmers now have
To reach PD +IIOOM or more is an
honor achieved by only 2 4". of the
6 758 Holstein sires on the January
1978 DSDA Sire Summary
Above are three Curtiss sires that
have achieved this and much more
Much higher PD milk plus high
PD$ PD fat and improved type
Traits that help you build a higher
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We re taking a strong stand to
provide a genetic source you can turn
to for the higher milk production you
need and the profit sustaining traits
you want
So stand firm on your selection
of quality animals Choose the sires
that take vou to the top the way that
good reasons to be op
timistic.
Since last September
average farm product prices
have improved 20 per cent.
April prices were the highest
since February 1974 and the
third highest on record.
Cattle and com prices are up
40 per cent since September
and wheat and soybeans 30
percent.
Net farm income for 1978
is now likely to top $24 billion
on a current-dollar basis.
That would be about 20 per
cent more than 1977’s and
the highest since 1974. And
the recent hike in the wheat
target price - from $3 to
$3.40 - could pump farm
income up another half-a
billion dollars or more.
There are several reasons
CURTISS
for the farm product price
increases that have
brightened the outlook m the
past few months.
• Strong foreign demand,
with limited competition.
* Expanding domestic
markets for food and
feed.
* Stepped-up use of the
commodity-loan and
farmer-held-reserve pr
ograms.
* Reduced red meat sup
plies, with continued
strong retail demand.
Here are some of the
details on these develop
ments.
USDA Secretary Robert
Bergland reviews
agricultural progress with
these words:
“Less than a year ago, the
Congress passed and
counts—sires of complete" cows
Curtiss sires
Pictured from the right
40H2518 RANSOM-RAIL
PACEMAKER "VG"{B7) GM aAa 435216
Production plus great udders' Pace
maker daughters are money makers—
high producers with the strength to
sustain it PD +1679M +46F +l4ss
60i. Rep 1/78 USDA. PDT +1 12
44 ;, Rep 5/77 TPI+4I7HFA
40H2652 SAGESER CHIEF
ASTRONAUT (COLONEL) ' VG (88)
aAa 615243 Bred to be great
sired by Astronaut, out of an EX'
Chief daughter Sinng high scoring
daughters with exceptional udders
PD +1615M +63F +l6ls 33;, Rep
President Carter signed
what he called the most far
reaching agricultural
legislation in history.
“About two months later,
farmers marched on
Washington, expressing
their dissatisfaction with
commodity price and in
come support levels in that
legislation. But most of all,
they were demonstrating a
deep disappointment with
the current costs, rising
debt, and low farm prices.
They were experiencing the
“bust” side of the familiar
“bom and bust” cycle in
American agriculture.
In the dozens of meetings I
held with fanners, farm
organizations and members
of Congress since last
December, I urged restraint
and reason. I argued that we
1/78 USDA PDT +32 SO I ’.. Rep 2/78
TPI +326 HFA
40H2563 WILCOXVIEW
PERFORMER PAT-TWIN ‘EX (90) aAa
341256 Another great sire for milk
production Daughters are top pro
ducers with good set to legs well
balanced udders and desirable teat
size PD +1531M +36F +l2ss 37". Rep
1/78 USDA. PDT - 17 313. -.. 0
Rep 10/77 TPI +261 HFA
Contact your Curtiss
distributor today
Or call us
Curtiss Breeding Service
SFARLF Dlv,slon of Searle Agriculture Inc
[ZZZZZ 312-639-2141 • Cary. IL 60013
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8,1978
should give the new farm
law an opportunity to take
hold and work. This was not
the most popular stance to
take.
The many critics of the
new law and our policies said
that economic disaster was
imminent. They charged
that we were bankrupting
American agriculture and
the family farmer. There
were claims that we were
nailing the coffin shut for a
new generation of farmers.
I’m thankful to say this
has not happened. The food
and Agriculture Act of 1977
and the policies of President
Carter are indeed working.
We have managed to put the
brakes on the boom-and-bust
farm price rollercoaster.
Necessity demands that
CURIiSS
Distributors & Dealers
Serving Your Area:
cumiss
classic
OCTOBER 4,1978
DUNDEE, ILLINOIS
we have a comprehensive
national food policy, not just
a farm policy.
This national food policy
must address every step in
the national food system,
from the farmer through to
the consumer.
The Carter Administration
sought farm policies and
programs that would:
—bring economic stability
to the business of farming,
—assure adequate food
production to fully meet our
domestic and foreign
obligations, both com
mercial and humanitarian,
—establish needed
reserves, and
—operate within the
restraints of the budget and
inflationary pressures.
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