Henderson daily dispatch., 1934-10-01

as 70 to SO 1-3 percent OF market
values and was set by the Secretary
of Agriculture at % per cent for 1884.
Basic Agricultural Commodities
1t is only to basic agricultural
commodities" that provision Tor pro-
duction control through benefit pay
ments can be applied. These, as orig
inally listed in the Act are wheat,
cotton, corn, hogs rice, tobacco and
milk and it's products Amendments
to the Act made at the last session of
Congress included beef and dairy cat
tie, sugar, peanuts, rye, flax, barley
and grain sOrghums as basic COM
modities.
These commodities are listed as
basic for several OF all of various rea-
sons. Changes in their price strong
other agricultural products. Yhe Unit
ly influence changes in the prices OF
ed States produces an exportable sur
plus of some OF them, and, because
world prices declined sharply their
economic situation was relatively
worse than that of others produced
and consumed on a domestic basic
Another reason is thai ali of these
commodities are put through some
manufacturing process before they
are ready for human consumption,
and their production and diStribu-
tiOn can be better regulated in these
processing channels than could the
production and distribution of com
modities not SO processed. Benefit
payments on adjustment of a commo-
in
lected on the processing of the com
modify
Choice of methods for determining
and making compensating payments
for adjustment of production is large
lS without the discretion of the Sec
retary of Agriculture, except that
such arrangements must be entered
into voluntarily by the producer.
! Under the act, land may be leased
in large areas, by States or regions,
or from individual owners, and re
tired from production of any crop.
restrictions may be prescribed ON the
alternative use Of such land so that it
may be used either 10 produce crops
! that do not compete with other COM
InodiIies OF which there is surplus,
or be planted TO soil-improving or ero-
sion-p preventing crops
The Secretary may, under the Act,
! determine what proportion of the to-
tal acreage of given crop he will
lease, or he may decide to designate
and lease certain fields on an indi-
vidual farm. Otherwise the tend
ency would be to lease and withdraw
,
AscuucIng Market Volume
1t is also within the discretion of
the Secretary OF Agriculture TO offer
compensation III the Ior mOf benefit
payments for reducing the amount of
commodity that is sent to market, in
stead Of leasing land and withdraw
ing it from production.
10 compensate producers for such
reduction in lneir production for
market, the Secretary may make
benefit payments on that part of the
commodity required for domestic
| consumption, in sucn amounts as the
to be paid out OF any moneys avail
Secretary deems fair and reasonable.
able for such payments"
Notifications ana Combinations
Numerous notifications and COM
olnatlons OF these two methods are
possible under the Act and have, in
Iact, been employed in its administra-
ton in the programs now in effect
for cotton, wheat, tobacco, corn and
hogs.
Under the 1888 cotton program, two
| methods of compensatory payments
FOR reduction of output for market
were provided. One was a rental
payment based on productivity of the
land. The other was the cotton on
ton method, which permitted cot
ton growers to obtain by contract
with the Secretary of Agriculture op-
tlons on cotton owned by the Fede-
raj Government and to receive anv
profit obtained through sale of the
cotton later. The growers could
choose either a straight rental pay
ment, or a combination of the rental
and cotton option plans.
Throught the operation of the 1888
program cotton acreage for that year
was reduced by over 100 million acres
and production curtailed by more
than million bales. The reduction
offset an unusually high average yield
in 1888, which, without the program
would have made large additions to
the already burdensome carryover.
Growers received for their crop prices
approximately double the prices pre-
Vailing before the program went into
effect, and cooperating growers, in
addition, received $50 million dollars
in rental payments and potential cot
ton option profits. Vance County
farmers plOwed up 1925 acres of cot
ton under this program and received
$1S,OOOO0 in rental payments and
22,0OO00 on cotton options. Those
farmers who pooled their options now
have an additional equity of about
three cents per pound in the cotton
Under the 1894 program rental pay
ments are 1-2 cents per pound of
the 1928-32 yield per acre on land left
ton, benefit payments of moi less