The Wilmington morning star., 1940-02-28
TRUCK M FIGHT

once again the truck farmers Of New
Hanover county are stepping into the
forefront of the fight for more recognition of
vegetable growers under the national agri'
cultural program.
At the meeting in New Bern Monday truck
farmers of the state backed the program
which had previously been adopted by the
New Hanover and Fender county farmers in
their Farmers club.
Now they will attempt to have that incor'
porated in the national program.
But the way is yet long and hard.
AAA officials say this can only be done if
the national conference of farmers, to be held
in Washington this summer, agrees to it. The
recommendations Of this conference must be
carried out, they say.
And yet close scrutiny of the recommends
|tions of the last national conference Of farm
ers shows the AAA is not following it's sug-
gestions.
In fact, a very close scrutiny will show
that the majority of the points sought by
truck farmers in this state are the very
points to be found in the recommendations
of the last national conference of farmers.
Indications are North Carolina truckers will
seek more immediate help than that suggest.
ed by the AAA. 1t is immediate help they
need more than aid in 1941.
But for the future it might be we'll for
truck farmers to examine the manner in
which past national conferences have been
conducted and plan accordingly.
In the past conferences all types of farmers
have voted on all of the divisions of the ma
tional program. For example, tobacco, cotton
and corn farmers have all had a say in
what should constitute the program for truck
farmers.
small say in what should constitute the to.
bacco program, but after it was drafted the
weed growers were given the benefit of a ref.
erendum to ascertain if it suited them.
Not so with the truck farmer who, greatly
in the minority in the representation in the
conference, has been forced to accept any type
OF program the superior numbers of other
types of farmers would pass for him.
Thus it is we find the truck grower can
grow not tobacco but the tobacco grower can
grow all the truck he desires.
1t is this inequality which came out of the
national conference, according to the AAA
officials, which the truck farmers of North
Carolina would correct.
If a national conference is to govern the
agriculture of the nation, there should be rep.
resentation in that conference. If only tobacco
farmers are to grow tobacco, and only cotton
farmers are to grow cotton, it follows that
only truck growers should grow truck.
Anyone who has followed closely the pic.
ture of truck farming can take the past 20
years and say, up to this point truck farm.
ers made a fair profit from their labors and
investments, beyond this point they have
not" That point is the place where control
came into the picture, cut down the produc.
ton of other cash crops but failed to stop
the increase in acreage of vegetables, for.
merly grown only by truck farmers but now
grown by every type Of farmer.
Without any type of control affecting any
type of crop, the truck farmer could get
along.
With a lopsided control which benefits
many forms Of agriculture but which INJURIES
the truck grower, the truck farmer is RAPIDLY
going under.