in baled cotton in compresses and warehouses, (b) an improved layout for older type storage compartments which increases storage capacity 10 to 15 percent and (c) improved layouts for stacking bales that make maximum use of labor and equipment.

Albany, Ga. ($69,624).-This work has been conducted at this station for 2 years. Research conducted is for improved work methods, equipment, techniques, and facilities for handling, conditioning, storing, cleaning, and shelling farmers' stock peanuts.

The results of this research have been (a) determination of optimum speed of peanut shelling equipment for best results, (b) modification of shelling equipment to more thoroughly eliminate foreign matter, (c) tests to determine the best temperature and airflow for drying peanuts quickly with minimum damage, (d) tests have been conducted on a pneumatic conveying system to determine velocities necessary to convey peanuts, and (e) a report was published giving plans and specifications for building an improved dump pit for farmers' stock peanuts. Presque Isle, Maine ($12,709).—This work has been conducted at this station for 11 years. Research conducted is for more efficient work methods, equipment, and related facilities for off-farm handling, storing, cleaning, grading, sizing, and packing of Maine potatoes.

This research has produced (a) improved methods of handling potatoes in moving them from storage to the packing line, and (b) publication of the results of a study of conveyor loading and unloading of rail cars.

East Grand Forks, Minn. ($40,563).—This work has been conducted at this station for 16 years. Research conducted is for improved methods and equipment for the off-farm handling and preparation for market of fall-crop potatoes in storages and packinghouses; to study the impact of cleaning and sizing fallcrop potatoes before storage on handling, storage and preparation for market, and optimum conditions for the storage of potatoes for processing.

This research had the following results: (a) Publication of the results of a study on more efficient bulk handling and shipping of potatoes to the processing plants, (b) work was completed on developing plans and specifications for a 30,000 hundredweight capacity door-per-bin potato storage, (e) a bulk bin was designed for unloading and temporarily storing potatoes in pallet boxes at the packing plant, (d) a publication was released containing recommendations regarding construction techniques, layout and design, ventilation systems, insulation, and building materials for potato storages, (e) improved elevator for deepbin potato storages to be used in connection with fluming was developed and tested with the result that 1 man was able to do work that formerly required a 5- or 6-man crew.

Fresno, Calif. ($18,616).—This work has been conducted at this station for 5 years. Research conducted is for improved methods for prepackaging at point of production for lettuce, stone fruits and grapes, citrus fruits, celery and asparagus, and development and evaluation of improved shipping containers for grapes.

As a result of this research we have found (a) that use of lettuce prepackaged at the point of production will reduce marketing costs 15 to 50 cents per box, (b) that costs of prepackaging vine-ripe tomatoes could be reduced 15 percent by increasing the number of tomatoes in each package, and (c) a new method of machine packaging of lettuce designed to save 10 cents per 24 heads.

Orlando, Fla. ($14,862).—This work has been conducted at this station for 5 years. Research being eliminated is for prepackaging citrus fruits, fresh sweet corn, and green beans at point of production; development and evaluation of improved shipping containers for peaches. Other research at this location will be continued.

As a result of this research (a) progress has been made in developing a suitable container for prepackaged corn (b) a report was issued on a reusable shipping container for fresh dressed, air-packed poultry, costing 64 cents less per 100 pounds shipped than the conventional crate, (c) transparent shrink films for frozen poultry were evaluated and have been well received by consumers, (d) an air-stacked loading pattern for citrus has saved thousands of dollars to shippers by reducing product loss and damage.

Yakima, Wash. ($16,709).—This work has been conducted at this station for 7 years. Research is conducted on prepackaging at point of production for fresh pears and fresh apples and the development and evaluation of improved shipping containers for apples and pears.

As a result of this research (a) the cost of materials and direct labor to prepackaged northwestern apples has been reduced by 27 cents per box, (b) a new arrangement of vertical and horizontal dividers has been found to provide additional protection to apples in containers, (c) tests have demonstrated the superiority of polyethylene film wrap in shipping pears, and (d) a container for prepackaged peaches was demonstrated to be cheaper and more appealing to the consumer than previous containers.

In addition, the proposed reduction would affect planned work at Columbia, Mo. ($27,120). This station, which was scheduled to open late in fiscal year 1964, would not be opened under the proposed reduction. Planned work at Columbia involved development of equipment, work methods, and layout for handling wool in warehouses and to further increase the efficiency of operations on livestock auction markets through use of automation or other techniques.

MERGING RESEARCH FUNDS

Mr. GRANT. I might say also, Mr. Chairman, the concern that you are expressing here about the relationship of the marketing research is, as you know, recognized by the Department. Consideration is being given by the Department to the transfer of all marketing research to Dr. Shaw.

Mr. WHITTEN. Well, I am glad to hear that this is being given some thought. Some years ago you had three research funds as I recall it. You had Research and Marketing Act funds. You had the regular research funds. Then you had the Secretary's research fund.

If somebody wanted a little money for something and could not get it one place, they went to another fund. If they got turned down twice, they went to the third place.

I am sure that you technical people could separate one project from another, maybe by making a field trip. But to the committee, with the descriptions of these projects, it was impossible for us to tell the distinction in many instances between the project over here and the project over there and a project somewhere else under these three funds.

So the committee, of its own volition, put all this money together. And somewhat later, a couple of years I believe, the legislative committee came along and approved our action.

I want to say for the record here I am very proud of the fine work that the people in the research part of the Department have done, your shop, the marketing research group, all of them.

But I have been in Washington long enough to know the competitive situation and the similarity in work. And, after all, you grow cotton to sell it, and you sell it to use it. And it is just hard to see that you can properly handle these things without having it under one central chain of command. Coordinating and calling a meeting or discussing how you will get along is not what I mean. I mean some chain of command where you have some control over these things.

What I have in mind by asking you to show us what you are cutting out is to indicate that, if this organization had been centralized into one research group, we could have saved enough money to have financed all these projects. That is just a matter of opinion. So with that background you might give us your statement, Dr. Shaw.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Dr. SHAW. We appreciate the opportunity to discuss again with you the work of the Agricultural Research Service.

Before presenting our proposed budget for fiscal year 1965, I want to report briefly on our plans for new research facilities and for expanded research on specific commodities-to be financed with nonrecurring funds transferred from the Commodity Credit Corporation. My associates will report on other increases made available in 1964 and on progress during the year in our research and regulatory programs.

CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH FACILITIES

Funds totaling $21 million were made available for planning and constructing new facilities.

$9.5 million was provided to construct a Southeastern Utilization Research Laboratory. Secretary Freeman has determined that this Laboratory is needed and has selected Athens, Ga., for its location. Athens has the advantages of close association with the University of Georgia, including its academic atmosphere and staff, library facilities, and graduate school. It is centrally located with respect to the southeastern region, to existing Department field stations that will become part of the laboratory complex, and to the strong research underway in Georgia and Florida that will complement the research planned for the new Laboratory.

The structure at Athens will be built along the same general lines as the other utilization research laboratories. We have made a tentative site selection on land to be donated by the university and have developed preliminary design specifications for use by the General Services Administration in selecting an architectural engineer.

$4.5 million was provided for improving the facilities of the Northern Utilization Research Laboratory at Peoria. We plan to enlarge the U-shaped building by adding an L to provide approximately 54 additional chemical laboratories, library and conference space, and supporting facilities. In addition, the pilot-plant equipment formerly used for alcohol research will be dismantled and removed, and balconies and an elevator will be installed. This will double the present pilotplant space.

$4.5 million was provided for construction, alteration, and equipment at the Southern, Eastern, and Western Laboratories-the funds to be divided equally among the three.

Although our plans are not yet firm, our present thinking calls for a separate structure at New Orleans to house the wet and dry cotton textile processing research and to provide additional chemical laboratories. The vacated area will be available for expansion of research on cotton in the existing building.

At Albany, Calif., we are thinking of enlarging the existing storage facility to accommodate the mechanical shops, certain gross processing operations, and the animal quarters necessary for our pharmacological work. This will permit us to convert the areas vacated into approximately 20 laboratories.

At Philadelphia, our tentative plans are to convert a major portion of the present pilot plant into a modern, sanitary food-processing facility. Another portion will be converted into approximately six chemical laboratories. We also plan to build a separate structure for the mechanical shops, constant-temperature and refrigeration rooms, and storage space. These changes will provide approximately 20 additional laboratories in the main building.

30-087-64-pt. 2-3

The amount of $750,000 was provided for use, in equal amounts of $250,000, at the Weslaco (Tex.) Fruit and Vegetable Laboratory, the Olustee (Fla.) Naval Stores Laboratory, and the Stoneville (Miss.) Cotton Ginning Laboratory.

At Weslaco, we plan to use the $250,000 to build at the site of the Texas A. & M. Substation No. 15, on the outskirts of town, rather than to modernize the present building in the business section. Much Department research is already located at this substation. Present plans are to add a utilization research laboratory and pilot plant wing to the existing ARS building that houses the Fruit and Vegetable Laboratory and the Soil and Water Conservation Research Laboratory, thus gaining the advantages of scientific association and the economies of common use of supporting facilities.

At Olustee, we plan to remodel and enlarge the main laboratory to obtain the space needed for modern chemical research on naval stores.

At Stoneville, we plan to build a new structure to house the full-size experimental and commercial cotton-ginning equipment used in conducting final performance tests. The space vacated in the present building will be converted to a laboratory-shop for exploratory research and testing of experimental ginning equipment.

The amount of $1.5 million was provided for constructing a regional weed research laboratory in the Delta area. Secretary Freeman has determined that we need this laboratory and has selected Stoneville as the site.

Here, again, the selection was based on Stoneville's central position with respect to other State and Federal research and on the mutual benefits to be gained in the close working relationships and the sharing of supporting facilities.

We are working closely with officials at Mississippi State University and the Branch Experiment Station at Stoneville in arranging for a site to be donated by the State and in coordinating our plans with their own plans for new facilities so that we will have a mutually productive research program.

Because of earlier studies on the need for strengthened research in utilization and weed control, made at the request of Congress, the $250,000 provided for studies and planning will all be used in planning the two new laboratories at Athens and Stoneville. It will be prorated on the basis of the expected costs of construction.

COST OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION RESEARCH

In addition to construction funds, Congress also provided for the transfer of $5 million of CCC funds for utilization research and $5 million of section 32 funds for research on cost of production.

We are allocating $4 million, or four-fifths of the utilization funds to work on cereals, cotton, livestock, and forage. Of this, we are spending $1 million on cereal grains as materials for industry and $0.5 million on cereals as food products. The amount of $1 million goes for research on cotton and $200,000 on cottonseed. Livestock allocations include $400,000 for dairy products, $400,000 for meat, and $400,000 for animal fats, hides, and poultry and eggs. We are spending $100,000 for forage research.

The remaining $1 million is broken down as $200,000 for research on soybeans; $450,000 for fruits and vegetables; $50,000 each for linseed oil, naval stores, and new crops; and $200,000 for tobacco research.

We estimate that 80 percent of this $5 million will finance utilization research conducted under contracts and grants. The other 20 percent will be used to update equipment and meet other needs of our own laboratories working on these commodities.

Of the $5 million provided for cost-of-production research, the Secretary at this time has allocated $3.5 million to the Agricultural Research Service.

We are using $450,000 for work on wheat, corn, and sorghum, $850,000 on cotton, and $725,000 on tobacco. The remaining $1,475,000 will finance research on livestock and livestock products, including work on forage crops along with that on dairy and beef cattle.

Mr. WHITTEN. Dr. Shaw, let me interrupt to say that last year this committee and the companion group of the Senate had many differences of viewpoint as to how best to do the job that was needed. We approached it in two different ways, so far as the respective bills were concerned.

When it became apparent that we were to have a drastically reduced budget this year, we became convinced that since each bill carried funds which could be used for construction which we recognized as needed—we had better go ahead and make provisions for it at that time. That was done.

And we were also under a great deal of pressure from the President and from the leadership of both House and Senate to get together on a conference report and get this bill resolved, which we did shortly before Christmas Eve.

In connection with that, these funds were transferred from section 32, where 30 percent of import duties are set aside for various and sundry programs under section 32.

The bill last year also carried a provision which relieved the section 32 funds for basic commodities from some of the stringent, strict requirements that had to be met in order to meet the objective of increased domestic consumption.

So, with that provision, the funds from that source being available, those funds were transferred to Commodity Credit Corporation for use in the area that you have discussed.

PERSONNEL CEILINGS

Now, can you tell us how you have allocated these funds? It is my understanding the Department has put a limitation on personnel. Now, how has that personnel limitation affected the total number of people that you have in your shop?

Dr. SHAW. It has affected the total number of employees. It has not affected our plans for use of these transferred funds.

Mr. WHITTEN. That is what I want you to describe. Now, what reduction have you had in your regular personnel, which, according to the President's message, you are supposed to absorb by not filling positions, if I remember it correct? How much cut in personnel would that require you to make?