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producers and packers, that have been brought into the board's program in the last 3 years are practically all on this basis.

Collections from producers are made on the Nation's terminal markets, auction markets, and by producer-owned cooperatives, both on and off the terminal markets, and by participating meatpackers on their direct purchases. Participating packers also make contributions for the livestock they slaughter on the same per-head basis. Obviously, participation both in the collection program and the financing program is voluntary on the part of meatpackers. Contributions are also made by certain livestock associations and the American Meat Institute.

Total collections remitted by market agencies, packers, and livestock associations for the last 3 complete fiscal years (May 1 to April 30) have been as follows:

1962-63

1963-64

1964-65

$1, 011, 700. 21 1,022, 146. 96 1,044, 481. 52

Meat board collections have been down in recent months primarily because farmers have been marketing fewer hogs. In the first 7 months of its 1965-66 fiscal year (May through November 1965) the meat board's cash collections totaled $566,043.48, a decline of 4.1 percent from the $590,500.07 collected in the same period a year earlier. In this same 7-month period cattle slaughter was up 4 percent, but the commercial slaughter of hogs was down 11.1 percent from 1964.

The allegation that meat board collections have been adversely affected by Farm Bureau participation in direct marketing activities is not true. The producer-owned marketing agencies affiliated with Farm Bureau are cooperating with the meat board. The major packers generally collect contributions from producers on direct marketings in addition to making similar contributions from their own funds on the livestock they slaughter.

Sincerely yours,

CHARLES B. SHUMAN, President.

Mr. POAGE. Is there anyone else who would care to be heard on this bill one way or the other? If there is no one else, Mr. Heimburger would like to make a statement.

Mr. HEIMBURGER. I will take a microphone, if you don't mind.
Mr. POAGE. Yes, sir; by all means.

Mr. HEIMBURGER. Mr. Chairman, I have been requested to make two statements, first by Clarence H. Girard, who appeared here yesterday on behalf of the Department of Agriculture.

During the questioning of Mr. Girard, he was asked whether or not the Wool Act authorized the determination of the referendum by twothirds of the volume represented in the referendum or only by twothirds of the head count. He answered that his memory was that the Wool Act provided that only for two-thirds of the number of people voting.

His memory turned out to be incorrect, and he called me this morning to remind me of it. The Wool Act does provide that the referendum may be carried by two-thirds of the number voting or two-thirds of the volume represented in the referendum.

Now just before the meeting adjourned this morning, the Chair asked me haven't we been doing this same thing under the act of 1937, the Marketing Agreement Act. Didn't we recently pass a bill to authorize this for various commodities.

The answer is, Mr. Chairman, that we have been doing exactly this same thing proposed for cotton for other commodities under the Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. That act provides, and I want to get this accurate, so forgive me if I read it from the law-one of the pur

poses for which agricultural marketing orders may be issued under the Marketing Agreement Act is:

"For establishing or providing for the establishment of marketing research and development projects designed to assist, improve, or promote the marketing, distribution, and consumption of any such commodity or product, the expense of such projects to be paid from funds collected pursuant to the marketing order?"

Now this is not a new provision. This went into the Marketing Agreement Act in 1954, and I am informed by the Department of Agriculture today that out of 48 marketing orders for products other than milk, which are now operational under this act, 33 of them contain provisions for collections of funds from the participants for research and market development.

The thing Mr. Cooley referred to as having been enacted recently was a bill we had last year which permitted a number, some 14 in number, of commodities to collect funds on this same basis for paid advertising.

Paid advertising is not permitted under the provision I just read. But we did pass a bill by unanimous consent in House last year, and it passed the Senate and became law, which permits the mandatory collection of funds under these marketing orders for paid advertising.

I might say a similarity between the bill here and the Marketing Order Act is that in that act also the referendum can be carried either by two-thirds of the number voting or by two-thirds of the volume represented in the referendum. The only difference is that the collection is mandatory under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1937, and the payee has no opportunity whatever to get his money back, and in fact will be sued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for collection of the money, if he doesn't pay it.

Mr. POAGE. Thank you, Mr. Heimburger. Are there any more questions? If not we are very much obliged. The committee will stand adjourned, and we will meet at the call of the Chair in executive session to work on the bill.

Thank you all.

The committee is adjourned.

(Whereupon, at 5:30 p.m., the committee adjourned, subject to the call of the Chair.)

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