Evening star., 1943-02-13

Lard for Civilians
To Be Slightly Above
Amount Used in 1912
1850, 900, 900 Pounds
Reserved for Armed
Forces and Leose-Lend
Ry the Associated Press.

Fy the Associated Press.
Secretary of Agriculture Wick
ard today reserved for the armee
forces and lease-lend 1850, ,000,-
900 pounds OF lard to be produced
in the remainder Of 1943, but sale
civilians will receive as much OF
a little more lard this year than
they got last year.
Mr.. Wickard said it was necessary
to allocate specifically the larC
needed by the armed services anC
leaselend so that this necessary
food may be started to the battle
fronts right away
Nevertheless, he estimated lard
for civilians this year will total l.
850,000000 pounds. compared with
1,846,000,000 pounds last year.
Civilians may get additional
quantities of lard IF production this
year exceeds present estimates
Specifically. Mr.. Wickard ordered
those packers making federally in
spected lard-Which includes most
but not all packerS-tO reserve sc
per cent of their weekly lard pro-
duction for sale to the Food DiStr-
button Administration. FDA ther
will turn the lard over to the armed
forces or lease-lend administration
The order is effective tomorrow.
Two Pounds of Meat Week.
y food official said yesterday tha
military procurement agencies anc
lease lend buyers were experiencing
great difficulty in obtaining sufTi.
cient meat and lard for their cur.
rent and reserve requirements,
Saying the meat supply situation
had deteriorated since the Govern
ment had decided to ration civilians
the official declared the amount
consumers will receive may be les.
than two pounds a week, on a pei
capita basis. Originally, official,
had hoped to make the equivalent
of about two and half pounds
available.
The official attributed the situa
ton to black market operations ano
failure of livestock marketings tc
come up to expectations.
The Government must depend or
Federally inspected slaughterers fol
meat supplies. These slaughterer:
are not getting as large a portion Of
the livestock supply as normal the
official said, because of black market
competition. The latter in many
cases pay farmers better prices fol
animals than commercial packers
Price ceilings, which black market!
apparently do not observe, limi
prices commercial packers can pa!
for livestock.
Probable Steps Listed.
Because supplies are less than hat
been expected, action will be taken
the official said, to require packer
to make larger portions of thei
weekly output available for Gov
ernment agencies. Steps likely t.
be taken. he said include:
Revision of an order allocating 7
per cent of the normal Commercial
output of pork for civilian use ant
80 per cent for war needs. Civilian
supplies would be cut to between
so and IS per cent. with between 8
and 40 per cent going to the wa
programs. '--'-' IS
Shipment of hogs into norma
commercial channels so far thi
season was said to be running 5000.
900 head below estimates made a
the start of the season. Some O
the deficit. the official said, reflect
diversion into illegal or black mar
ket operations. There is possibilit,
also, he said. that estimates of ho]
production were overly optimistic
Lard production was said to b
falling below expectations becaus
Of the failure Of hog marketings t,
come up to estimates and becaus
packers have not been trimmin
pork as closely as formerly. Gov
eminent reports show that although
hogs are going to market at heavie
weights than ever before. the outpu
of lard per animal is below that O
recent years. Price ceilings are such
the official said, that they discour
age close trimming of fat from pork