PREFACE

The Federal Farm Board presents to Congress in the pages that follow a report of its second year's administration of the agricultural marketing act.

In that period ending June 30, 1931, notwithstanding. unfavorable economic conditions, substantial progress continued to be made toward the main objective of the act, which is to develop a national program of improved marketing and production adjustment for the permanent betterment of American agriculture. As was the case in its first year, the board's major activities were directed to giving farmers all possible assistance in carrying forward the cooperative movement on a sound basis. At the same time emergency efforts to protect wheat and cotton growers from the threatened collapse of the markets for these commodities were continued to the benefit not only of farmers but of the country as a whole.

Being of a spectacular character, these latter operations have attracted public attention out of proportion to their importance in the program being developed in accordance with the provisions of the agricultural marketing act and thus have served to obscure what is being done of a permanent nature to place agriculture " on a basis of economic equality with other industries." It, therefore, seems desirable briefly to call attention again to the means by which the act says this equality for agriculture shall be brought about.

These divide themselves into long-term measures and temporary measures. Of the former, the primary are: (1) Improvement in marketing of farm products through the development of strong self-contained farmer-owned and controlled marketing associations to the end that farmers will receive a larger share of the consumer's dollar and a fair return based on supply and demand conditions; (2) adjustment of production to meet the probable consumer demand.

The temporary measures are provided to meet emergency situations, such as the purchasing of seasonal surpluses of agricultural commodities by stabilization corporations to prevent sudden drastic declines in prices.

Assistance made available under the terms of the agricultural marketing act accelerated the growth of cooperative-marketing associations in number and strength the past fiscal year. Major efforts have been centered on strengthening and expanding existing coop

eratives and unifying their sales activities. Cooperatives now have six active national sales agencies as follows: Grain, cotton, livestock, wool and mohair, pecans, and fruits and vegetables. Numerous regional and State associations have been formed the past year for dairy products, poultry products, fruits and vegetables, potatoes, beans, sugar beets, and other products.

As evidence of the growth in cooperative marketing, Farmers National Grain Corporation, with its 27 regional members serving 250,000 farmers, handled approximately 196,000,000 bushels of grain in terminal markets or approximately three times the amount handled on terminal markets by cooperatives before the agricultural marketing act was passed; the American Cotton Cooperative Association and Staple Cotton Cooperative Association, with combined memberships of more than 160,000, handled 2,442,001 bales in 193031, compared to 825,786 bales handled by cooperatives in 1927-28; National Wool Marketing Corporation, serving 40,000 wool and mohair growers, handled 130,349,499 pounds in 1930-31, compared to 22,575,000 pounds handled by cooperatives in 1927-28; and the National Livestock Marketing Association, serving 300,000 producers, handled more than 8,000,000 head of livestock.

Up to June 30 the Farm Board made loans from the revolving fund to 105 cooperative associations with which were affiliated approximately 3,375 regional or local associations having 1,100,000 farmer members. In addition to direct loans the board assisted cooperatives in many ways; by organization surveys, by aid in improving methods of operation and management, in maintaining sound relations with members, in developing sound sales policies, and in improving the quality of services rendered.

Profitable prices are much to be desired, but agricultural products once produced must be marketed. Cooperatives have learned this, and since the passage of the agricultural marketing act have made an effort to merchandise their members' products in an orderly manner, based on supply and demand conditions.

Wheat stabilization activities made necessary by the acute situa tion sustained our prices well above world markets for six months, added millions of dollars to farmers' incomes, and gave farmers and business organizations a breathing spell in which to readjust to a lower level of prices. Cotton prices, supported through loans to cooperatives and the withholding from the market of stabilization stocks acquired the previous year, were sustained through the marketing year higher than they otherwise would have been, to the benefit of cotton growers and the Nation.

Complete information of the board's activities during the past year is given in the pages that follow. The facts are arranged to

present to Congress a clear and concise picture of the long-term program and what has been done thus far in its development and also the current status of the emergency stabilization operations. The board confidently believes the program to be sound and that it is the best approach yet offered to bring about the permanent improvement of American agriculture.

Some opposition is being encountered from those who object to the American farmer marketing his own product. The board is not permitting this to interfere in any way with the carrying out of the duties imposed upon it by Congress. It is the purpose of the board to continue in the future as in the past-to render every possible assistance offered to agriculture in the agricultural marketing act to the end that farmers may have equality of economic opportunity with other groups.