They're Flaws In Farm Bill

HELLO FOLKS — The house and Senate have just passed a 'Farm Bill' that is supposed to cut down the amount of wheat in storage and cut the production of it. It also again passed the emergency feed grain program.

I do not, at this time, know what contains in entirety, the program so I cannot say much about it except that if in the wheat bill the cutback in production is only 10 per cent, it will not reduce the production one bit. The reason is that we have the know-how to almost double the wheat yield. It is done by the heavy application of fertilizers.

In the past there has not been very much fertilizer applied to wheat, at least not in the principal wheat growing areas. However, the wheat men when faced with a further cut in acreage are apt to "pour it on".

I suppose there is some sort of a program along with it that pays the wheat grower in kind for retiring land, that wheat in turn is put on the open market. This is good and should be a help in reducing some of the wheat in storage. However, if we are going to really cut the wheat acreage enough to stop the excess production there will have to be a good deal more than 10 per cent retirement, for that 10 per cent is not apt to reduce wheat tonnage at all.

As for the emergency feed grain program, if farmers are allowed to change the acreages and put the acres that were retired this year into production there will be a build-up of feed reserves rather than a reduction. Those idle acres will really produce and within the period of a few years we will have probably produced more total feed than if they had not been idled. For the feed grain program to have any temporary success the idled acres will have to be permanently retired and additional acres retired with them. That will of course take more money from the taxpayer, or shall we say from the coming generation?

The whole fact is that we are not headed for a solution to the farm "problem" at all but rather building one with emergency programs.

—o—

I HEARD A verse that goes something like this.

MEN ARE FOUR

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not. He is a fool. Shun him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not, teach him. He will learn.
He who knows and knows not that he knows, he is asleep. Awake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows, he is wise. Follow him.
– Lady Burton.
From Life of Sir Richard Burton