OCR Text |
Show T A Tuesday, July 19, 1955 THE DRAGERTON TRIBUNE Page Six j Study Committee received testimony on tbs importance of protecting dairy farmers Everyone in Utah is ks agreement on this point. SAFEWAY ADVISES PROTECTION COULD ANY MILK LAW COST YOU MONEY? FOR UTAH'S DAIRY FARMERS YES! Testimony was also given the committee to show that where the retail price of milk has been "fixed by law, it has in order to protect inefficient, inevitably been set too high It is Safeways policy (published and in evidence to the committee) to pay dairy farmers top market prices for milk, phis , quality bonuses. This policy has never been violated. However, Safeways policy protects ofdy the dairy fanners selling to Safeway. Other milk bottlers and retailers may not have the same pkicy or may not keep to it as strictly as Safeway does. That's why it Is also Safeway's policy (published and In evidence) to work for laws or regulations to protect the price all dairy farmers get for their milk. ARE THERE ANY SUCH LAWS OR REGULATIONS AT PRESENT? There is one on the books in Utah right now. It is Utahs "Milk and Cream Marketing Act This law is patterned after a California law which has been held constitutional. It provides the power to set minimums on the prices paid dairy farmers for and makes payments below the minimums illegal. If inmilk voked this law would give Utahs dairy farmers the protection they need. marginal middlemen. Mr. Sverre M. OmdaH, Director of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Washington, (himself a dairy farmer)- - gave similar testimony: the producer must receive a fair price or he will shortly be forced out of business but, by the same token, I have always objected to the states setting a price (retail , price) which would tend to favor inefficiency. "... the price you pay for milk Is "fixed" It could prevent Safeway and other efficient retailers from passing the savings of their efficiency on to you. If For example: At Safeway you buy milk in paper cartons, cash for it, and carry k home yourself. Safeway saves money pay by not handling empty bottles on their return . . . not making hundreds of expensive home deliveries . . . not keeping credit accounts and having no credit losses. You are entitled to these savings you help earn them. And you get them from Safeway and other retailers only so long as they are free to compete for your business. Such competition will mean that you can buy more milk. Arid Utah dairy farmers will sell more milk. Other ways to protect Utahs dairy farmers also are available. A Federal Milk Marketing Order is one. 58 federal orders and agreements are now in effect and 10 more are being considered by the Secretary of Agriculture. These federal orders and agreeK 4 , ments also set minimums below which prices paid dairy farmers may not go. Today over half of the fluid milk consumed in the United States is marketed under milk price stabilization programs which protect producer prices only, leaving free and fair competition to prevail at consumer levels. This includes the 58 federal order markets and 5 state pricing programs. rm SAFEVJA Y mrks daily with and for Utahns t N, . 885 Safeway Utah employees received $3,541,876.37 ia wages and salaries in 1954. 171 Utahns own 16.863 shares of stock in Safeway Stores. Safeway purchased the following Utah products in 1954. DO SUCH LAWS WORK? Mr. Stuart Russell, who represepts some 30 milk producer cooperatives throughout the United States, testified: "I do not know of any major price war that has occurred in any of the areas where federal milk marketing orders and agreements are in full force and effect. Nor do I know of any, in states which have effective state milk control commission laws that control prices at the producer level. I Mr. Russell also explained why these laws work: "The reason is very simple: If distributors cannot pass the cost of the price war back to the producers,- they will not wage a prolonged - retail price war. j - No testimony to the contrary was presented to the committee. WOULD ENFORCING PRODUCER PROTECTION COST YOU MONEY? WHY SAFEWAY IS PUBLISHING The committee heard experienced testimony that federal milk marketing laws do not increase the price you pay for milk in fact, the Milk Study Committee itself found that " . . . such cost is so minimal as not to affect the price of milk on the retail level. The federal order does not set resale prices and the evidence indicates it does not materiallyaffect said prices. A state law could be just as inexpensive. NO! THIS STATEMENT Safeway was bom in neighboring Idaho. We have a big stake in Utah and a citizen's concern for Utah's ' well-bein- g. t We believe we haVe a responsibility to the public, our employees, suppliers amJ' stockholders to publish the record of our testimony to the Milk Study Committee. Watch for these reports in this newspaper. |