OCR Text |
Show Farm Production vs. Consumption 'A rising population and improving -living standards automatically broaden the market for food and other farm products. Even so, it is believed that the productive capacity capa-city pf American agriculture will outrirrt food 'consumption for many years to come which means that we will continue con-tinue to have a surplus problem unless new and different kinds of markets are found and developed. That is why much attention is now being given to the possibilities of increased use of agricultural products by industry. '. The 84th Congress established a bipartisan commission commis-sion to examine the matter. Id carrying out its assignment, the commission obtained the assistance of 188 of the country's coun-try's outstanding leaders in agriculture, industry and science. sci-ence. Jts report has now been made and it is an exceedingly exceed-ingly interesting one. . . The question the commission dealt with is this: "Can the economy develop profitable industrial markets capable capa-ble of absorbing enough of the excess farm production to minimize, possibly even to eliminate, the need for costly cost-ly restrictions, suDports, and surplus-disposing operations?" opera-tions?" The commission found that "the answer is an emphatic "YES." providing the necessary steps are taken to make possible and encourage such a development." There are four main'need?. The first is a sufficiently sharp sense now lackiog -pf the importance, the possibilities, pos-sibilities, and the urgency of the industrial utilization approach ap-proach to farm surplus proUJems. The second is a greatly expanded program of both fundamental and applied research re-search a program which would not be confined to the laboratory, but in promising instances, would go through the development stages of pilot-plant experiment and trial commercialization. The third is to ensure, through fellowships, fellow-ships, scholarships, grants and other means that much more scientific talent is trained for and channeled into this neglected field. The fourth is to nrovide. when neces sary, suitable financial incentives during a temporary trial or development period. The Initial step, the commission states, is sound legislative action by Congress. The commission emphasizes that, by comparison with industry, agricultural research is in the doldrums. Industry Indus-try is currently investing at least $3 billion a year three per cent of gross sales in research, and the result is h constant flood of new and improved products. Agriculture spends not more than $375 million a year on research about one per cent of gross sales and most of this goes to improve and increase production, rather than for the utilization research. Consequently, the commission says, agriculture has been researched out of a good part of its natural morkets" through the increasing use of detergents, deter-gents, synthetic fabrics, leather substitutes and so on. The commission proposes that a five-member; nonpartisan non-partisan agricultural research and industrial board be created cre-ated by Congress, or alternately, that responsibility for the program be placed in the Department of Agriculture, under a director with assistant secretary rank. And it makes another important suggestion that the program be under-taken in a way that will ". . . add as little as possible pos-sible to the structure of government." |