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Show December 1970 UTAH Ihy Im cows, calves and sheep, and my FARMERS WEEKLY this week tells me to expect a price rise of another 7 pounds ($16.80) a ton this winter, just about 10 pounds ($24.40) a week. nal of the National Farmers Union) a Cambridgeshire farmer gave his reasons for quitting agriculture. Briefly, the gvernment that determines income, demands more facilities to protect the majority under a cheap food policy. Another British farmer wrote a letter to the editor in the October 6, 1970 edition of the BRITISH FARMER that adds information and understanding to the situation. whatever beatings the weather, pests and diseases, and our lords and masters the politicians, our bank managers and our overseas competitors may choose to give us? What do we do? Are we so tired after working our 70-9- 0 hours or more a week for 52 weeks a year that we have lost the will or the energy toflght? Do we get out like Jim Hall (BRITISH FARMER, Sept. 5) while the going is still good? It may not be for much longer. Do we accept the Inevitable and farm accordingly, or do we go out and fight? Sir, my wife and I farm this farm between us with casual help on occasion. My accountant tells me that I draw less than 10 pounds ($24.40) a week 200-ac- re from the business in cash and in kind, and my wife has no reason to disbelieve him. Between now and the next Price Review I will be using about 6 tons of feedlngstuffs a month for I don't need to be a brilliant mathematician to ask myself.... What are we? Men? or lap- dogs, sitting at the foot of our masters table, taking whatever are thrown to us and wagging our tails in thanks; taking scraps I like my neck of the woods and have quadrupled the physical output from it over the last eight years with a milk sale per cow in the herd of well over 1,000 Why should we have to gals. out after 20 years in the bus- get (continued from Pg 1) Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. A total of 38 State Farm Bureaus achieved 1970 membership These included the 15 quotas. states establishing new all-timembership highs plus Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, NorthDa-kot- a, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. State Farm Bureaus in New York, South Dakota, and Washington recorded a gain in membership over 1969 even though they did not achieve 1970 membership quotas. The Tennessee and Florida Farm Bureaus continued their records of continuous membership gains. Tennessee has gained membership over the previous year for 30 years and Florida has gained membership every yaar since its ar organization in 1941 a period. Other State Farm Bureaus with outstanding records of continuous growth in membership over the previous year are Texas with 15 years; Alabama and Puerto Rico with 14 years; North Carolina with 12 years; Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina with 11 years; Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, and Rhode Island with 9 years; Maine with 8 years; Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, and Oklahoma with 7 years; California, Utah, and Wisconsin with 6 yeas; Arkansa, Colorado, and New Jersey with 5 years; Illinois, New Hampshire, me 30-ye- and Virginia with 4 years; and Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Nebraska with 3 years. The Indiana Farm Bureau had the highest numerical gain in membership for 1970 with 18,451 member families more than in 1969. Kentucky was second with 8,135 and Iowa, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida foil wed li that order. Each with a numerical increase of over 4,000 member families. Sixteen states gained over 1,000 members. Nine states reported a membership gain in 100 percent of their organized County Farm Bureaus in 1970. These states included Florida with 65 counties; Indiana with 92 counties; Iowa with 100 counties; Kentucky with 117 counties; Maine with 15 counties; Maryland with 23 counties; Michigan with 75 counties; Mississippi with 82 counties, and North Carolina with 100 counties. McLain Talks Farm iness so that others can have their 40 pound40 hour week? ($96.00). I ask myself again why we in the farming industry alone are slipping deeper into the mire. I know that I pay the Milk Board over 100 pounds ($240.00( a year in capital levy to build new creameries and buy new lorries, so why do we go on like this, waiting months and years for recoupment of extra costs incurred, and then not getting The housewife pays the dairyman for her plntas and from this month onward she pays an extra Id ($0.01) a pint. The dairyman pays this 8d ($0.08) a gallon with his levy if he is a producer-retailer) to the Board, and the Board pays the surplus over the guaranteed price to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the tune last year of 15, 87 1,57 3 pounds ($38,091,775.20). If we own the Board, we as producers must instruct the Board immediately to pay us an increase in price sufficient to reimburse us for all increases in costs between Price Review, 1970 and Price Review, 1971, including the approaching increase in feed prices. I know nothing about and care less for Defence Regulations, Orders in Council and Acts of Parliament which conspire to ordain that those who work on the land, both workers and employers, should always be treated as sec(a-lo- ng citizens. I see no rea- ond-class AFBF Membership Page3 m efftfmgj England started their present agricultural payment program under the authority of the Agriculture Act of 1949. The result of the payment program in England is the same as the payment programs in the United States. The difference is that the English program is applied to all major commodities and the U.S. program is applicable to only a few commodities. In the September 5 - October 2, 1970 BRITISH FARMER (Jour- FARM BUREAU son to respect such, and would defy them to take the Board to cort for misappropriating funds. We have nothing to lose by such rash action we could not be any worse off. Time is running out very fast. For many tomorrow may be too late. Peter Spencer, West Pitt Farm, West Pitt Hill. Tiverton. Devon. Jn?KntCkyfnd,MaIne:,100Ser(BRITISH FARMER, Oct. gained membership for three con- - I970) . . .. . secutive years. Florida, Mary- .. . , Tne and CaroNorth ls, land, Michigan, V can africultural producer con- Una each two consecutive J tinues to look to the United States olr 3-- y " Fleming announced the 1870 membershlp of the State Farm Bureaus as follows: Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey Mexico New York North C arolina North Dakota New Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming 118,500 4,131 60,249 60,910 13,583 2,397 1,590 44,266 57,135 1,010 12,050 190,494 187,711 .114,582 .87,075 105,159 31,908 2,972 10,301 3,729 57,935 32,427 79,948 45,744 4,207 15,383 1,699 3,506 4,098 8,489 13,331 62,7 32 15,688 54,758 58,310 7,795 12,430 6,080 231 3,294 109,707 121,153 9,729 5,040 22,000 3,841 3,886 31,253 7,879 government by way of a payment culiurallpr,ucer. Were on the move in Farm Bureau. Were growing in number nationally. Were by far the largest of the general Farm organizations, in fact, we have more than all the others combined and size isnt the only thing, but the Important thing is we continue to grow while the others are moving the other way and I think that ls a tribute to our organization. As I appear before committees I am constantly complimented on from various hundreds of Congressmen about the fine organization we have in our state and also complimented on the gentlemanly way in which we handle our affairs in Washington. Now briefly on the Trade Bill. If you have not read the editorial in the Salt Lake paper and I dont own any stock in the Salt Lake paper, this morning you ought to read it. The previous speaker indicated a little bit about trade. Ladles and gentlemen, how important ls trade to us. One out of every 4 or 5 acres thats under cultivation in the United States, a product from it is exported. Our organizations in the day of Ed O Neill, Alan Klien and Charlie Shuman and going clear back has traditionally been portrayed, knowing full well that we have a capacity to produce to the extent that if we dont have an outlet like the previous speaker indicated of 6 to 7 billion dollars worth a year, we re in serious trouble. What do you think would happen if half of the wheat crop that we now raise and half of the cotton crop which we now raise and export could not be exported and those acreas went into production of cattle or dairy products or anything else that you 16, les? y And Economics Issues thrlHsh! fQc ftUa IMIIIIUD5 If A CD C J HlDl UA IlCCtU (continued from Pg 1) dent of the Tazewell County Farm Bureau before becoming president of the Illinois Agricultural Assoc- iation. He is serving as a mem- ber of the Board of Agricultural Advisers of the Illinois Depart- ment of Agriculture, the Illinois State Emergency Resources Plan- ning Committee, and the advisory committee of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Med- icine. He has been instrumental in spearheading a statewide campaign to secure the construction and adoption of a new constitution for He served a Demo- Illinois. of as cratlc governor Cona the Illinois Committee for stltutlonal Convention; and pres- ently serves a Republican governor o f a committee as working to secure voter adoption of the C onstltutlon. As head of the Illinois Agri- cultural Assocatlon, he also served as president of Country Life In- surance Company, Country Mutual Insurance . Company, Company Fund Investment Inc., and Capital Illinois Agricultural Holding Co. which are affiliated companies of the IAA. might raise and thats precisely what will happen if we arent careWe with this trade bill. ful worked hard to keep it from passing in the House yesterday. We sent a letter, Mr. Shuman signed it and we very nearly knocked it off the track. The first vote they took it came to the floor with a closed rule. A. closed rule means you cant amend it. This Trade Bill has some good things in it but it has a lot of bad things in it and we wanted to get rid of the closed rule so we could take the bad things out. The first time they voted on it we carried by about 20 votes and then when the arm twisting started and the protectionist got with it they reversed themselves and after 8 hours of debate late yesterday afternoon they passed this Trade Bill on the House side. SORRY THE' didn't COOPERATE OH, 1 ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF MY , VACATIO- N- Sitting bv-tw- e FIRE PLACE,.. reviewing all my BOOKS ON DIETS co-chair- co-chair- Mr. and Mrs. Kuhfussare mem- of the United Church of Christ. They have four children; two Mrs. Edward (Karen) daughters, 30 of Koch, Trenton, Illinois; Mrs. bers Thomas (Linda) ODonnell, 28, of Champaign, Illinois; and two sons at home, Tad, 25, and John 21. presently ALL DIETICIANS ARC IN AGREEMENT THAT kMlXED GREENS ARE GOOD, FOR VOU r, iM H dont know whether the President will veto it or not. Mansfield this morning said that as far as he was concerned he wanted no part of it. Hes a Democrat leader in the Senate but protectionist on the jump in this country and so help me agriculture as you wll find as you read this editorial will be the principle sufferer if we move in that direction. If you have influence with your two Senators I hope you get with them by communication and otherwise and tell them you want no part of it. Now on the Senate side unfortunately they are about to wrap the Welfare Bill and the Trade Bill and an increase in Social Security all in one package so the president cant veto it. Now well find out what kind of courage he has if they do that because this ls going to be a barren of apples with about 45 of it rotten apples and the rest is going to be all right. And what do you do with those kind of apples? Do you take them in and sell them to the store as all being nice apples?. You dont. And thats what the presiI dents going to be faced with. Briefly on Farm Labor. Youve heard about Mr. Chavez. You've heard about the grape boycott. We have a couple of so called general farm organizations that believe that farm workers ought to operate and be organized under compulsory unionism, just industrial like labor unions in effect mean would are which a situation like the General Motors strike. What would this do to a lot of agriculture if you had this kind of a thing take place? The representation that we have isnt as large as it used to be. Which means weve got to be more vigorous than those that are left and again our organization is growing to get through to the members of Congress - how we feel on this issue. Were going to have changes in the next two years and the problem ls whether the changes are going to be something that we can live with or whether theyre going to be on the basis that by the stroke of some labor leader he can shut down an Industry and in the perishable commodities this would be chaos. This effects consumers. Weve got to get through to the people that dont have any direct interest in farming. Here we have a group of people preventing you as a consumer and anybody else as a consumer from going in to a grocery store and buying grapes. This isnt what made this country great. |