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Show Page 2 September 1974 Utah Farm Bureau News AMERICAN PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM TOP ACHIEVEMENT LAST YEAR ,, , What consumers need to know about food prices, supply Farmers are getting a lot of news media attention on the anticipated corn crop. This is a good thing, because it reminds people that it's the farmer who puts food on the table. Americans tend to take the nation's record agricultural production for granted. But there are certain aspects of the short crop story that create misunderstandings as to what goes into higher food prices and what causes drouth-reduce- d inflation. Some news reports indicate that hope for slowing inflation were keyed on abundant crops resulting in lower food prices. This reasoning is based on the false assumption that high food prices cause inflation and that a big corn crop would mean lower food prices and less inflation. It is true that larger corn crops usually mean lower grain prices, defactors. But also it is an economic fact that pending on supply-deman- d inflation causes high food prices, and not the other way around. not the basic cause. The root High prices are symptoms of inflation cause of inflation is deficit spending by the federal government at a level which cause the supply of money and credit to expand faster than the supply of goods and services. Another misplaced emphasis found in many reports on the short corn crop is that the farm price level is the major influence on retail food prices. As a matter of fact, all the costs involved in moving food from the farm to table have a major impact on retail food prices. Whats more, these costs have been rising steadily and marketing margins have been widening. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that marketing spreads for assembling, processing, transporting and distributing a market basket of foods from U.S. farmers in 1974 may average about 20 percent above 1973, the largest annual increase on record. The marketing spread did narrow in July as compared with June, but this was the first decrease since Februarv. The farmers share of a dollar foods was 40.8 cents in July spent in retail food stores for compared with 39.2 cents in June and 47 cents in July 1973. A USDA task force report shows that profit boosts by retail food stores and by meat packing firms were an important factor in beef price increases late in 1973 and earlv in 1974. The task force reported that meat price margins exploded late in 1973 and early this year, while market prices for cattle and hogs dropped sharply and losses mounted for livestock feeders. Some of the increased margins were due to efforts of packers and retailers to recover losses sustained during price controls, but increased costs of labor and other services and supplies required by marketing firms was a significant contributor to wider retail margins. These are some facts to keep in mind in talking about what goes into retail food prices. Bv Crcston J. Foster, Director of Communications American Farm Bureau Federation farm-produc- IFA 5 Farm census coming in January Farmers and ranchers, get ready for the 1974 Census of Agriculture! Keep good records of your farming operations this year! This is the request of the Bureau of the Census, the Federal agency that will conduct the 20th nationwide Census of Agriculture during the first part of 1975. The Bureau is part of the U.S. ed De- partment of Commerces Social and . Economic Statistics Administration. Farmers will receive their report forms by mail early in January. They should fill them out and mail them back promptly. Having accurate and detailed records will make it easy for farmers to do this. Questions will be much like those in the last previous agriculture census which covered farming and ranching during 1969. ' Questions will ask for acreage of cropland harvested; quantity and market value of major crops produced; acres irrigated and means of irrigation; acreage treated with pesticides, lime and other chemicals; acreage fertilized by kind of fertilizer (dry, liquid, gas). reports greatest year" at annual meeting Questions on livestock and poultry will cover the number of each kind on the farm as well as the number sold and the sales value. Quantities and sales value of their products will be sought. Details will be requested about farm products produced or marketed under contract. A few questions will be included about hired and contract labor, the number of workers and cash wages paid; also about any injuries to workers. Further expenditure questions will cover amounts spent for feed, fertilizer, pesticides, lime, gasoline and other farm fuels, machine hire, and livestock and poultry purchases. There will be questions about the various types and uses of land, such as cropland not harvested, other pasture arid woodland, and about the value of land and buildings on the farm. Operators will be asked about farm related income such as recreational services, custom work provided other farmers, or payments for participation in Government farm programs. Two types of report forms are being prepared: one for farms with sales of $2500 or more, and another less detailed form for places with sales of less than S2500. UTAH FARM BUREAU fHl NEWS POSTMASTER: Please send Form 3579 to Utah Farm Bureau, East Fourth South, Salt Lake City, Utah MI02 429 Published each month by the Utah Farm Bureau Federation at Salt Lake City, Utah. Editorial and Business Office, 429 East Fourth South, Salt Lake City, Utah, 14012. Subscription price of fifty cents per year to members is included in membership fee. subscription price: One dollar per year. Non-memb- er Second Class postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah UTAH FARM BUREAU FEDERATION OFFICIALS Elmo W. Hamilton, Riverton Jay Child, Clearfield . C. Booth Wallentine . . . Elwood Shaffer S. Greatest year as they reported at the recent was how officers described 1973-7- 4 annual meeting of the Intermountain Farmers Association in Salt Lake City. Klnio Hamilton, president of Utah Farm Bureau and member of the 1KA hoard of directors, is making an election report to those attending. General manager John A. Roghaar (center, by projector) listens intently. in the history of the Association President Vice President Executive Vice President Editor DIRECTORS: Frank Nishiguchi, Garland; William Holmes Ogden; Jack Brown, Grantsville; Edward Boyer, Springville; John Lewis, Monticello; Jerold Johnson, Aurora; Kenneth R. Ashby, Delta; Mrs. Paul Turner, Morgan; Robert Johnson, Randolph. |
