The CHAIRMAN. Yes; and making it less productive for the small farmer. Mr. TILLMAN. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. That is what you mean; buys them out. Mr. TILLMAN. Yes, sir; buys them out or rents them out or finances the present owner on a share basis. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. TILLMAN. So I think that the administration of a program, regardless of what it might be, should be followed up with periodic checks if necessary, hearings before your great committee-in order that these things will certainly be administered as they should be. I am going to offer something here that hasn't been discussed. It is something that is farfetched insofar as I am concerned, and yet I would like to see your committee and other people become interested in a national holiday so far as farmers are concerned. I think that the suggestion has its merits. I think that if such a proposal was planned it would certainly have a drastic effect on the present surpluses and they would disappear in short order, and your national holiday would not take place. But in the event that those surpluses did not disappear-I don't know whether that is true of wheat, cotton might have to go that far, and tobacco-in case they did not disappear, I think that a part of this program should be termed a national holiday in the production of those commodities that are in surplus and I think that the maximum cut should be taken on those commodities in order that we might bring things in line immediately. I think that the acreage taken out of production certainly should receive sufficient rental payment from the Government and by the Government. We are traveling, if I might say this, on a thin crust so far as agriculture in this Nation is concerned, and being a farmer I am thoroughly convinced that this crust will break through before you can hardly put anything into practice to save the day. In other words, I think we need immediate action, immediate relief, immediate plans; and I think that unless some of the suggestions that have been made here today-I am going to wind it up by saying this-by the Farm Bureau, by the Bankers' Association, by Mr. Pace and others, unless those programs are put into action and put into action immediately, we definitely will feel the results in this State and in the entire Southeast and throughout this Nation. And I believe that the truth is going to rock this Nation when they are confronted with the facts insofar as agriculture is concerned. Mr. Chairman, it has been a pleasure to appear before this committee. I want to say to Senator George, Senator Russell, and to our distinguished Senator from Kansas that we consider you one of the most important steppingstones in this Nation insofar as agriculture is concerned and we look forward to the results that you will produce in behalf of agriculture of this Nation. Thank you, sir. The CHAIRMAN. All right. Mr. Culpepper, please. Do you have any suggestions that will be of help to us? STATEMENT OF BROOKS CULPEPPER, TALBOTTON, GA. Mr. CULPEPPER. Mr. Chairman The CHAIRMAN. Give your name and occupation. Mr. CULPEPPER. Brooks Culpepper, Talbotton, Ga. I am a livestock raiser and timber raiser. A few weeks ago I read in the Wall Street Journal an article by one of their economists. This article stated that due to the fact that the agriculture of this country only constituted about 5 percent of the economy that the rest of the economy could absorb it or forget it. I was astonished at the statement. It shows that the thought in other brackets of our economy is not too sympathetic with the problems of agriculture. A few days ago a friend of mine visited a packing plant in Atlanta, Ga., a large packing plant. He was shown through this plant, the operation, and this attendant related to him, "Now, we pay these men that bone this meat as high as $11,000 a year." There is no 4 years of college or 4 years of training required to become a meat boner. I doubt him owning the butcher knife he bones the meat with. But he shows you that we are enjoying a period of inflationary prosperity and unless this inequality of income between certain brackets of industry with relation to agriculture is corrected it will be very similar to the story of the institution for the insane that caught on fire by a wire shortage. The attendants went panicky and began to shove the patients out of the second-story window. Finally they came to the fellow in a padded cell and he was trying to get out and they opened the door and he ran and pulled the switch that stopped the conflagration. I am afraid, gentlemen, that probably we are starting at the wrong side of the dam to stop the leak. Unless the higher brackets of our economy can see the plight, then it will be too late. I warn you gentlemen to rush to the switch and pull it before the conflagration comes down on us. Do you recall 1929? I remember it. The result was disastrous. And history is repeating itself today. The greatest decision I ever made in my life was in about 1933. Cotton had gone below 5 cents a pound; corn was unsalable; cows were giveaway; timber was worthless. But I owned my plantation. I told my tenants, I said, "You can't live on my plantation any longer. I want you to move. I can't continue to lose money on the fertilizer bill, pay the tax, and feed bill." They moved. The old fields grew up in pine trees and I haven't recropped since, but I think it was the wisest decision I ever made when I told my tenants to leave my land. Gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity of appearing before you. The CHAIRMAN. How much land do you have? Mr. CULPEPPER. Fourteen hundred acres. The CHAIRMAN. Is the timber you are producing sufficient to give you a good livelihood? Mr. CULPEPPER. Yes. The only thing is the livestock proposition. The CHAIRMAN. You have livestock? Mr. CULPEPPER. Yes, I have about 125 head of beef cattle. Just a few years ago beef cattle were bringing, grass-fed cattle, good steers. some 25 to 30 cents a pound and now they are from 15 to 17 cents a pound. Yet this beef boner in the Atlanta plant is receiving ten to eleven hundred dollars a year to cut my beef off the bone and I can't make ends meet. You can't raise beef for 15 cents a pound. To equip a farm for livestock raising it requires, that is, for a hundred brood cows, it requires an investment of between $50,000 and $75,000. You must mineralize your land; you must prevent erosion; you must build your fences; you must maintain a herd of cattle, requiring a great deal of care and attention. And with labor at the present price you can't raise beef cattle for 15 to 17 cents a pound. I thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, sir. Well, that completes the list of witnesses who asked to be heard. Senator RUSSELL. Mr. Chairman, I would not have this record closed here today without undertaking to express the appreciation of all Georgia for the action of this committee in coming here to Macon to conduct these hearings. I know I voice the sentiments of my distinguished senior colleague as well as the members of our delegation in the House of Representatives, leaders of the farm organization and the farmers of this State, as well as citizens generally, who recognize their dependence on agriculture for real prosperity, when I say that this committee at its hearings here made a very great impression on all who were privileged to attend. No one can fail to have noted the patience that has been displayed by the chairman and by the members of this committee, as well as the diligence of the chairman and members of the committee. Of course, it is very evident to anyone who has been here that the chairman never heard of an 8-hour day or 40-hour week but he has been very diligent in undertaking to garner facts that would be helpful in solving the greatest problem that confronts our country today. We cannot long sustain this prosperity that the other segments of our economy enjoys unless we bring the farmers of this Nation into fuller partnership in that prosperity. We tried it before. We should know from bitter experience that we are living in a fool's paradise when we think we can have permanent prosperity when the farmers are only receiving such a small percent of the income because before we know it, before we realize just how it happens, the other interests of the Nation that seem to be so prosperous get into a condition from which they cannot be salvaged. We can salvage the farm problem if we have a will to do it because the farmer is so small a part of our national population that we can take the steps necessary. When I went to Congress farmers were 30 percent of the people of the country. Today the real farmers are around 13 or 14. We have some marginal people included in the figures. I want to say, Mr. Chairman, that we are grateful to you for the interest you have displayed and sincerity of purpose that has been evident here, and the determination with which this great committee of the Senate of the United States approaches this problem. We believe that with this work and with this energy and with this intelligence that is being applied to this problem that we can solve it; we can really achieve genuine prosperity in this country that will be available to all our people who are willing to work for it and then enable our Nation to survive in a troubled world and maintain our position of world leadership. We thank you so much for coming and for your diligence and patience in these hearings. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Russell. We are going to lean heavily on you and your senior Senator and I know you will give your best to it as we are trying to do now. I realize that the problems are many, but we can solve them if we will get together and work. As far as I am concerned, if it takes 18 or 20 hours a day I will do it. All right, if there is nobody else who desires to be heard the committee will stand in recess until 9 o'clock Monday morning in Columbia, S. C. (Whereupon, at 5: 35 p. m., Saturday, November 12, 1955, the hearing in Macon, Ga., adjourned.) (Additional statements filed for the record are as follows:) COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, WINTER PARK, FLA., November 1, 1955. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. GENTLEMEN: We appreciate the opportunity which is presented by your committee to appear before it in regard to legislation affecting farm people. It is possible that a number of our members will appear before your committee to express themselves on an individual basis. As an organization, however, we are presently in the process of meeting in each of 58 county farm bureaus to discuss the various proposals and to arrive at the opinion of the majority. We will then hold a statewide meeting where delegates from all of these counties will vote to determine the majority opinion there. These recommendations will then go to a national meeting where once again the majority opinion of farmers will be determined. We respectfully request the opportunity to present our position to you after we have gone through this democratic process of accurately determining the opinion of the majority of the farmers of America. We are appreciative of your efforts in behalf of agriculture and your taking the time necessary to vist the farm areas of our Nation. We hope to have finished our policy development process by the middle of December, and will then present to your committee the recommendations of our organization. Respectfully yours, FLORIDA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, STATEMENT FILED BY J. R. KELLY, STATESBORO, GA. I, J. R. Kelly, having a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia, having had 15 years' experience with the United States Department of Agriculture, and having been owner and operator of a 250-acre farm in Bulloch County for 8 years would like to submit for consideration the following changes in the national agricultural program: I. That production quotas be established for all allotted crops except tobacco : A. That these quotas be arrived at for such individual farm by multiplying the average yield per acre of the farm by the present allotted acreage. B. That after production quotas have been established for each farm, marketing books be issued to the producer showing his production quota. C. That these books not be transferable. D. That when buyer purchases crop, he will pay the producer 90 percent parity price, and submit vouchers to the local ASC oflice for the difference in market price and 90 percent parity. E. That excess crops may be sold at current market prices. II. That, in order to qualify for a production quota on any crop, the producer must establish a grass or legume sod and remove from row-crop production a percentage of his total cropland. The following is a suggested guide: Up to 100 acres cropland, 10 percent sod and removed from production. A. That 75 percent of the cost of seed and fertilizer to establish these sods be paid for by the Federal Government. B. That these percentages and acreages of sodded crops be checked and approved by the local ASC representative before marketing books are issued to the producer. III. That no changes be made in the present tobacco program. IV. That any producer of allotted crops be permitted to return production. quota or acreage to the local ASC office for redistribution by a specified date from year to year. V. That the Federal Government continue to keep in storage a sufficient supply of all crops to meet any national emergency. Where satisfactory storage facilities exist on individual farms, some of these supplies held might be purchased directly from the farmer and stored on the farm. VI. That the loan program for farm-storage buildings be administered by the Farmers Home Administration, and that the regulations be changed so that the producer may borrow 80 percent of the total cost of the building rather than 60 percent of the total cost under the present regulations. STATEMENT FILED BY STEWART PHINIZY, PARTNER, PHINIZY & PHINIZY, Augusta, GA., C. B. WHITNEY, PRESIDENT, S. M. WHITNEY CO., INC., Augusta, Ga., and C. O. DEBEAUGRION, PRESIDENT, LYON, LYON & CO., INC., AUGUSTA, GA. We know we are speaking for the farmers in expressing our appreciation for the efforts you are making toward working out a most difficult situation. We feel you are going the extra mile in order that the producer may get his fair share in this era of prosperity; you are working in a good cause and where help is badly needed. As cotton factors of Augusta, Ga., we represent firms who have served the cotton producers of this area (of Georgia and South Carolina) for 30 to 90 years. We are vitally interested in the future of the cotton farmer and the farm program in general. While we do not propose to know the answer to the farm problem, we do have some thoughts based on practical experience which we would like to present for your consideration. A very large proportion of the farmers who do business with us are small farmers. We have seen these small producers suffer a great deal through the years of acreage control; the overall financial plight of this group at the present time is extremely bad. We believe in acreage controls but we think there should be a livable minimum acreage established for the small farmer. Unless this is done, it can readily reach the point where he would be forced to abandon the farm and become a ward of the State or Federal Government. An equitable formula of acreage control should be based on a sliding scale similar to income taxes. In considering acreage control, always bear in mind we have an intersacrifice accomplishes nothing in regard to world supplies. A world conference national problem as well as a domestic one. Whenever our farmer cuts an acre, an additional acre is generally planted in a foreign country, and our producer's sacrifice accomplishes nothing in regard to world supplies. A world conference should be held with the hope of cooperation in acreage controls at world levels. Under present economic conditions, with labor having a high support (wage and hour and immigration laws) and the manufacturer being protected by a tariff, we believe the farmer should be protected with a minimum of 90 percent of parity based on middling seven-eighths. There have been two schools of thought; high supports and flexible supports. To have flexible supports for the farmer, it would only be fair to have flexible supports for labor and manufacturer; the latter two are impossible. We are therefore convinced it is not pos |