Senator THYE. The soil bank, yes. You would be working on the basis of a commercial corn acreage of 51 million, rather than the 43 million acres.

The CHAIRMAN. That is what we had in mind in H. R. 12. That is the 43.3 million acres that you fixed last year was canceled out and that the base would be raised to 51 million acres.

Senator THYE. That would be my understanding of what we would be doing if we were to approve the soil-bank bill that was introduced by many of us yesterday. I joined as a cosponsor with that thought specifically in mind.

Secretary BENSON. I think, Senator Thye-I haven't read the bill as it was finally introduced. Some of our people have. I think it did not raise the commercial acreage for price-support purposes from 43.3 million to 51 million, but for soil-bank purposes it did.

Senator THYE. I worked all day yesterday and the night before with my staff and with the Legislative Counsel trying to pick up that very part of the soil bank and put it into bill form in order to introduce it yesterday. By noon I learned that there was a bill that had come from the administration. I stopped my work and went over and read the bill. There was one section stricken that was in the vetoed bill. But I did not think that section dealing with 51 million acres, referring to corn, had been left out of the new bill. I must get that clear, or I am not

Senator AIKEN. Will the Senator yield?

Senator THYE. Yes.

Senator AIKEN. I will say in getting that bill ready for introduction yesterday, we left out section 408, which was in the bill that went to the President. We probably got the result which the Secretary has indicated. We established 51 million as a base for soil-bank purposes, but we did not make the change from 43 million for price-support purposes.

Now, when the other bill was prepared, the one which did not become law, we made the base acreage 51 million. That was intended to be the allotment acreage also, and then we required that 15 percent of it be put into the soil bank, which brought it down to 43.7 million acres. Senator THYE. Yes; but the 15 percent of your tillable acres going into soil-bank practices-that 15 percent, as I understood it, did not apply specifically to the corn acreage.

Senator AIKEN. That is correct.

Senator THYE. In other words, you had 51 million acres as a corn acreage basis to work on, and if you took then 15 percent of your tillable acres and put that in soil bank, you were in compliance. That was my understanding of the other bill, and that is what I thought we were trying to do when we picked up that portion of the conference report and embodied it in a soil-bank bill introduced yesterday.

Senator AIKEN. That can be corrected before the soil-bank bill is reported to the floor.

The CHAIRMAN. May I state if and when we do consider a soil-bank bill, or any other farm legislation, that can be taken care of before this committee or on the Senate floor.

Senator THYE. But it is better that we have the understanding with the Secretary now than to run again into the same mudhole that bogged us down last time.

The CHAIRMAN. I am afraid before a bill is considered, we will get into many more mudholes.

Senator THYE. With this support and for the record right here, I am absolutely of the conviction that once we get the soil bank so we can take care of these acres that we take out of cotton, wheat, and corn, and have been placing into some other competitive crops; if we can tie them down and get them out of production, we will not have to worry much about supports in future years. That is why I am endeavoring here to clarify the question. I shall resist every amendment to the bill that was introduced yesterday; if I get this corn acreage question clarified, I shall resist every amendment, and stay on the bill and try to get the soil bank enacted. If there is any certainty of the future of agriculture, it has to be in governing the overall farm plant.

If we can get this corn acreage question clarified, then I shall have no reservations in my own mind. If that is 51 million acres, and if we go back and take 15 percent out of our tillable farm acres, putting them into the soil bank, this will then reduce our overall farm plant and our program on corn will be acceptable in the corn commercial areas. If this, I am certain.

On that basis, I shall resist every amendment that will be offered to the soil bank because we have to get it through if we are going to save agriculture.

I am through, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Secretary BENSON. I want to say after we have announced the supports for noncompliers in the commercial areas, if we can be helpful, we will be glad to confer with the committee on that.

Senator THYE. When you set your supports on the commercial, the 51 million is in the commercial allotment, rather than the 43 million. Mr. MORSE. There are a number of relationships that ought to be thought through. I would hope you wouldn't move to make the program compulsory. You will remember in the bill there was a provision in that direction-15 percent. In the illustration you have been talking about the two acreages should work very well together. We should think through and weigh all factors. A farmer can adjust to his share of the 43 million base starting from the higher base, and thus will be encouraged to put cornland into the soil bank. We haven't worked out such questions with adequate consultation in the Department and we should look at the total problem.

Senator THYE. You see, so much deliberation was given I think to the other soil-bank provision and to the corn acreage question, both in the committee and on the Senate floor, as well as in conference, that I believe the ground has been completely worked already. There would not be a problem going back into conference if you remained with the 51 million acres as the allotment in commercial corn acreage. If you consider the soil-bank provision that we had previously agreed to, that 15 percent of your tillable land would have to go into soil-bank practices, if they were in compliance with either the corn or the wheat or any of the basic crops, there would be no difficulty. Then your other conservation practices of tree-planting, long-range conservation contracting, would be in the act as it was previously. I think you would simplify the problem of both House and Senate deliberations, as well as committee deliberations, if that was agreed to.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Mundt?

Senator MUNDT. It is true, is it not, Mr. Secretary, that in your consideration of the bill as set up after the conference report, the administration and the Department of Agriculture did not inject any opposition to the corn phase of the soil bank the way we wrote it out? Secretary BENSON. We did not.

Senator MUNDT. That being true, it seems unlikely that you would now raise objection if we put it back in the same form.

Secretary BENSON. I think that would be true. We are very anxious to give the corn farmers an opportunity to get into the program. There has been very wide nonparticipation, as you know, even among the commercial corngrowers.

Senator MUNDT. The biggest complaint we get is this sharp cutting back in acreage.

Secretary BENSON. Yes, which is required under the old law. Senator MUNDT. Yes, and that is why we wrote the soil-bank feature as we did, to get away from that.

I think you are required by law to fix the price of corn in noncommercial acres at $1.125, which is 75 percent of $1.50. But those requirements do not hold insofar as noncompliance corn is concerned in the commercial acres?

Secretary BENSON. That is correct.

Senator MUNDT. Is anything planned at all, from the standpoint of other seed grains, which were not given any boost in the veto message, which the committee tried to accomplish by relating them to the support prices which we had established, but which, unless something else is done, will remain at identically the same level of 70 percent?

Secretary BENSON. What they will do for corn, we think will help the feed-seed grains considerably, Senator Mundt. We had not considered raising the support levels on feed-seed grains although it is possible there might be a justification about it. We feel confident what we propose to do for corn, will have a bolstering effect on the rest of the market.

Senator THYE. If I may interject, your soil bank provision will take care of your sorghum acres in the southwest, or your barley and other feed grains normally planted in the northwest. Those two factors will give you assurance on your feed grains.

Secretary BENSON. We do not anticipate an increase in corn acreage. If there is, it would most likely come out of soybeans. Soybean support has been raised and the market is well above the support level. The market is strong for soybeans and it is unlikely much of that will go into corn.

The CHAIRMAN. When you say you don't anticipate any more acreage in corn, you mean from the historical 56 million base?

Secretary BENSON. I would say by adjusting the support level on corn, we think it won't result in much increase this year

The CHAIRMAN. You mean this year or the last year, or past years, or what?

Secretary BENSON. This year, over what it would have been if we had left the support about where it was because of the very favorable situation on soybeans. Any new acreage on corn would most likely come out of soybeans. Soybean prices are relatively good. They are well above the support level.

Senator MUNDT. You announced a rise in price of soybeans some time ago.

Secretary BENSON. Yes; soybeans and flaxseed.
Senator MUNDT. That rise stays in effect?

Secretary BENSON. Yes, it does. I am very pleased that the market is well above the support level.

Senator MUNDT. In line with that, the committee established in the bill, in a short paragraph, a relationship between that and the price of cottonseed, which, of course, was lost in the shuffle. I don't think you made any comments about it in your statement. Therefore, I conclude either that you didn't consider it important or you do not consider it objectionable.

Secretary BENSON. We consider there is no need for it, because we do that administratively. We constantly watch the 2 and tie in our work to keep in mind the relationship between those 2 very important oil crops.

Senator MUNDT. That is what I was coming to; that you did have the administrative authority to do that, and we put that up as a sort of guidepost to the Department.

Secretary BENSON. Yes; we have been following that in our regular administration program.

Senator MUNDT. In the event that a new soil-bank proposal is passed, would this soil-bank payment to the noncomplying grower be based on the $1.50 price, or on this lower price for corn?

Secretary BENSON. Well, it would be based on the support level then in effect as related to the normal net return, based on that figure from that particular acreage which he takes out, plus a little. I think there would have to be some incentive about what he would normally get from that line. We can't say exactly what that will be. It will have to vary with the type of farm areas, and with the individual farm. The farmer's own neighbors will be operating in a committee and judging each case. We think we can get a reasonable figure and we think there will be little abuse. We think there will be good compliance because our farmers, generally speaking, are honest and they are working the program themselves. We don't anticipate there will be any serious difficulty.

Senator MUNDT. I am interested in this proposal about prepayments, starting in July, which you referred to in your talk this morning and which the President referred to very briefly in his veto message and in his radio-TV address. Could you dilate a little more how you propose to do that and when it will become operative? Will it become operative at fall plowing time or when the farmer signs the contract? Secretary BENSON. We think, as we envision it, it could start as soon as we could get the program set up and as soon as we could get the contracts worked out and the farmer could enter into a contract with the Government. His contract, we assume, could be written this summer and, of course, it would have to be approved by the local committee of farmers who understand his situation. It would have to be something that is workable and feasible. But we would think that there should be no great delay in the signing of those contracts.

We had in mind that an advance payment could be made at the completion of the contract. At the completion-the completion of that contract would be based on an approval of a plan which the farmer would submit to his committee. It would be approved by his own representatives.

We would do our utmost to move speedily and we feel, of course, this could add substantially to 1956 income. That is what we are all concerned about; to get some increased income for the farmer.

Senator MUNDT. Are you thinking in terms of 50 percent advance payment or more or less?

Secretary BENSON. We have felt it should not be more than that; probably it will be in the neighborhood of 50 percent of estimated total payment. The balance could be made after you completely checked compliance.

Senator MUNDT. Would that apply equally to the acreage reserve and other phases of the soil bank?

Secretary BENSON. Yes, I would think so. The advance payment would be an annual thing. Of course, as you understand, we would assume, after the first year, we would have the thing in operation. If we had had any bad experience with the advance payment, it could be eliminated later in the second year. We may want to continue advance payments because it would help to provide funds for the purchase of seed, fertilizer, and other things, which the farmer would need to participate in the program.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Symington?

Senator SYMINGTON. I am very new at this so if I ask a question that sounds elementary, you will forgive me.

Secretary BENSON. Welcome to the committee, Senator. You come from a great farming State, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. Thank you.

As I read these figures, you have increased the parity on wheat and lowered it on corn, rice, cotton, and peanuts.

Secretary BENSON. No; corn has been increased somewhat.

Senator SYMINGTON. Well, you have it here as 87 to 86.2 percent. Secretary BENSON. If you are figuring the dollars and cents, the dollars and cents have been reduced on all of them, I believe.

Senator SYMINGTON. Well, now, in the dollars-and-cents part, that interests me. As I am sure you know, cotton is our largest cash crop in Missouri. Not many people realize that.

As I figure it out here roughly with a pencil, talking dollars and cents, which you have brought out previously, sir, you have reduced wheat 4 percent, roughly; corn, 5 percent; and rice, 312 percent. You have reduced cotton 9 percent, the price in dollars and cents, as against 1955. I was wondering what the technical answer to that is.

In other words, if you divide $2.08 into $2, you get 4 percent, roughly, for wheat. If you divide $1.58 into $1.50, you get 5 percent for corn. Then cotton takes the big drop, from 31.7 cents per pound to 28.85 cents, or a 9 percent drop. I was wondering why that was.

Secretary BENSON. We don't approach these on a percentage basis. Senator SYMINGTON. I understand that. It is almost twice as bad for the cotton farmer as it is for the other farmers.

Secretary BENSON. You see, cotton has not had any reduction previously-I mean last year. One of the principal reasons for that was the fact that the 1954 act provided for a set-aside on cotton which improved the situation in our calculations for cotton. Therefore there was no reduction.

Now, this reduction which has been made is very much in line with what the cotton industry has recommended. They recommend, of course, that we move to the average grade and staple. That was, I