Mr. HORAN. We have with us at this time Dr. H. C. Trelogan, the Assistant Administrator for Marketing Programs, Agricultural Research Administration.

We shall insert in the record at this point pages 1, 2, and 8 through 18 of the justifications.

(The material referred to follows:)

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ACT

PURPOSE STATEMENT

Appropriations made pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (RMA-title II), provide for expansion of marketing research, service, and education activities in which the Department of Agriculture, the State agricultural experiment stations, the cooperative State agricultural extension services, the State departments of agriculture and bureaus of markets, and other public and private agencies are cooperating in solving problems relating to the distribution and marketing of agricultural products. Such funds are allotted directly to agencies of the Department for specified projects, or to State agencies on a matching-fund basis for carrying on projects under cooperative agreements, and are used under contract or cooperative agreement with public or private agencies, institutions, organizations, or individuals.

In accordance with title III of the Research and Marketing Act, the Secretary has established a national advisory committee of 11 members, 6 of whom represent producers or their organizations, to consult with the Secretary and other appropriate officials of the Department concerning research and service work authorized by the act, and to assist in obtaining the cooperation of producers, farm organizations, industry groups, and Federal and State agencies. This title also provides for the establishment, by the Secretary, of appropriate committees including representatives of producers, industry, Government, and science, to assist in effectuating specific research and service programs. Committees have been established under this authority to advise the Department on the principal agricultural commodities and in functional or cross-commodity areas such as cold storage, foreign trade policy, and transportation.

This appropriation is administered by the Agricultural Research Administrator.

Increase (for additional marketing research, service, and educational work to meet urgent current problems).

$786, 280

1, 151, 196

1,733, 360

$826,400 1,230, 300 1,842, 933

1,043, 082

1, 155, 300

163, 631 84, 451 4,962, 000

194, 400

194, 400

5, 249, 333

4,962, 000

+667 5,250,000

STATUS OF PROGRAM

The Agricultural Marketing Act (RMA, title II) provides for research and arketing services in which the Department of Agriculture, the State agricultural periment stations, the Cooperative Agricultural Extension Service, the State partments of agriculture and bureaus of markets, and other public and private zencies cooperate in solving agricultural marketing problems.

The act provides for continuous research to improve the marketing, handling, orage, processing, transportation, and distribution of agricultural products, and cilitates cooperation among Federal and State agencies, producers, industry

organizations and others in the development and effectuation of research and marketing programs to improve the distribution processes. It contains authorization to work on virtually all phases of marketing, using contractual, matching fund and cooperative arrangements with public and private agencies. Among the numerous projects conducted under the program, advantage is taken of each of these authorized arrangements to conduct relevant research, service, and educational activities.

The program is also designed to benefit all of the major agricultural commodity groups and as many of the minor commodities as possible, and to provide significant work at each stage of marketing, such as in assembly points, terminal or central markets, wholesale and retail markets. The essential objective of all the work is to increase the efficiency with which agricultural products are taken in the raw state from the farm and placed in the hands of consumers in the forms, at the times, and in the places desired by consumers.

As provided in the act, research and service contracts are used where the work can be carried out more effectively, more rapidly, or at less cost than if performed by the Department. Authority to contract with agencies outside of the Department for research and marketing services provides a means whereby the resources of private and other public research and marketing service organizations may be brought to bear on the agricultural problems which require additional knowledge for their solution. All contract work is supplemental to and coordinated with research and service work conducted by the Department. In the fiscal year 1952, 39 such contracts and 20 amendments were executed under the Agricultural Marketing Act totaling $637,590.

Further data on these contracts, including the project under which the contract was let, contractor, contract objective, and amount, are shown at the end of the statement which follows on selected examples of recent progress. There are also included the following tables:

Table I. Distribution of funds by major category.

Table II. Distribution of funds by agency.

Table III. Distribution of allotments to States by type of work.

Under a revised financial-project structure initiated in the current fiscal year the work is classified into the following broad fields:

1. Marketing costs, margins, and efficiency. To provide information on costs and relative efficiency which will identify areas where more productive followup research work can be conducted, and to provide a basis for constructive educational and service work, studies are made of marketing and merchandising methods and transportation costs, and their effect on production and distribution patterns; alternative methods of performing marketing services; and factors influencing operating efficiency of the different units in the marketing system.

2. Improvement and evaluation of product quality.-To improve quality and acceptability of farm products and to lower marketing costs, studies are made of ways to reduce waste and spoilage, including better storage methods; and new and improved grades and standards are developed for more accurate indication of product quality.

3. Improvements in market organization and facilities. To develop improvements in market operations, studies are made of structures, facilities, equipment, and methods to obtain more efficient use of labor through mechanization and work simplification; to conserve transportation by determining advantageous market locations or types of carriers; and to ascertain changes in market organization best suited to new products or types of distribution being introduced in agricultural commerce and trade.

4. Collection, analysis, and dissemination of market data.-To facilitate orderly marketing of farm products, data are gathered, interpreted, and disseminated on current and prospective production, supplies, movement of goods, prices, and market demand; and studies are made to improve the usefulness of market news and other market-information services.

5. Overall administration.-This activity provides for expenses related to overall administration, planning, and coordination of the Agricultural Marketing Act program, including any necessary expenses in connection with the work of the. national advisory committee and other special committees made up of represen-, tatives of producers, industry, science, and Government. It covers all costs associated with administering, planning, and coordinating this program in the Office of Administrator, Agricultural Research Administration. To the extent that such overall responsibilities are assigned to other bureaus and agencies in connection with specific segments of the program, provision is also made under this activity for such costs. This activity does not cover the usual general administrative expenses necessary to the conduct of work projects, such as account

ing, personnel, and purchasing work. These expenses are considered a part of the cost of conducting the work projects, and therefore the allotments for individual work projects include the appropriate share of such expenses.

Authorizations and appropriations for the Agricultural Marketing Act are as

follows:

Excludes reduction of $68,000 pursuant to sec. 1214 of the General Appropriation Act, 1951. "In addition to the foregoing such additional funds as the Congress may deem necessary." Excludes reduction of $667 pursuant to sec. 411 of the Department of Agriculture Appropriation Act, 1953.

Selected examples of recent progress

1. Improved terminal marketing facilities pay off.-Two new wholesale produce markets, located in San Antonio, Tex., and Columbia, S. C., are rapidly and steadily increasing their volume of business with no more labor than was employed in the old facilities. These are the most recent of terminal market facilities various communities have constructed as a result of studies and plans developed by the USDA, and designed to reduce labor and handling costs and to improve market quality and sales of produce. Reports from all facilities constructed so far show increased business and lower operating costs. New facilities-based on USDA plans are either under construction or being planned at St. Louis, Mo., Hartford, Conn., Boston, Mass., Indianapolis, Ind., and Nashville, Tenn.

2. Good drying and storage can prevent losses of corn.-Farmers in the Southeast can save up to 42 million bushels a year by harvesting their corn early and shelling, drying, and storing it in tight bins. Corn-drying tests have shown that this procedure is practical under southeastern conditions and could prevent the estimated current 10 percent loss due to poor condition of the stored corn and subsequent insect infestation.

3. Rapid methods for determining soybean oil content.-Use of a rapid and simple test recently developed for determining oil content of soybeans will make it easier for growers to obtain full price benefit when selling high-oil-content soybeans. This method, which employs a high-speed grinder-extractor and an electronic tester, can be used during routine inspection. It does the job in 15 minutes, compared to several hours required by current methods; it is accurate and relatively low in cost. It has the added advantage of being suitable for use by nontechnical personnel.

4. Foundation seed program increases feed supplies.-Greater production of improved forage to feed the livestock needed to meet demands for meat and milk is being made possible by the large increase in certified seed supplies of improved varieties of grasses and legumes. For example, the 1952 supply of Kenland red clover was increased 10 times over 1951, and of Ranger alfalfa 31⁄2 times. It is estimated that hay and pasture production from Kenland seed grown in 1951 alone is adding 300,000 tons of feed supplies.

5. Cost studies show prepackaging at terminal markets is feasible.-Cooperative studies with State experiment stations, showing that there is no material difference in cost of prepackaging potatoes at terminal markets in Oakland, Calif., and at shipping points in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California, indicated that some packaging at terminal markets may be justified as a means of using labor at wholesale plants more fully. A full-scale test of the economics of such a practice would require revision of existing regulations affecting the movement of inspected and graded potatoes across State boundaries.

6. Transportation costs are an important factor in location and operation of fertilizer plants. In cooperation with two fertilizer cooperatives, a study has been made of comparative freight rates, distance, and other factors involved in transportation of fertilizers. This information is of value to both private plants and cooperatives in determining the location of new manufacturing facilities to meet longtime fertilizer-production needs.

7. Data obtained to help improve efficiency in carded-cotton yarn manufacturing.— Wide variations in the efficiency with which labor is used in manufacturing cardedcotton yarn were demonstrated in a report on a contract study published by the USDA recently. The comparative cost data that are provided should assist

manufacturers in improving their operating efficiency. Many of these improvements can be made without too great a cost.

8. Better protection from insects provided for stored grains.—Insect damage to stored grain and grain products has been greatly reduced by treating cotton and burlap bags and fiberboard containers with a mixture of pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide. Storage tests showed excellent control for 9 to 14 months. Tests have also demonstrated that insecticidal aerosols may be effective in controlling insects in flour mills and boxcars. Unexpectedly good results were obtained when aerosols were used in a quonset building containing 40,000 bushels of shelled corn.

9. Maintaining quality of fruits and vegetables in retail markets. Proper refrigeration at night and sprinkling with tap water during the day are necessary to prevent waste from decay, wilting, and other deterioration of fruits and vegetables in retail displays. Demonstrations have shown that sprinkling several times a day and adequate refrigeration at night, preferably 40° F. or lower, are essential to the preservation of quality, appearance, and sales appeal of the produce.

10. Automatic grain sampler developed.-An automatic grain sampler designed for use in sampling flowing grain from spouts has been developed. The device was installed in a Chicago grain elevator for comparative testing with an automatic belt sampler and with standard methods used in sampling grain for inspection purposes. The new device holds promise of eliminating much time-con

suming work and delays.

11. Producers and distributors adopt improved marketing methods.-In Wisconsin, where a number of dairy plants requested assistance under an Extension Service program in consolidating their operations, it is estimated that 1 group of creameries completing a consolidation program will save $28,000 per year in operating costs. Oklahoma farmers are gaining increased returns through a wheat marketing educational program conducted by county grain advisory committees established in 55 counties and numbering in their representation all segments of the grain trade. In Virginia, where livestock auction demonstrations have been conducted, buyers paid a premium of more than 5 cents per pound above comparable local prices for feeder calves. Seventy-two grading demonstrations conducted at three livestock markets introduced into Ohio a system of selling hogs on a basis more nearly reflecting the true quality and yield value of the animals. These are typical of the better marketing methods and new marketing facilities and equipment that producers and distributors have adopted as a result of this extension project.

12. Control of insects in sacked dry beans improved.-Sacked dry beans can be protected against insect infestation by adopting improved fumigation techniques developed in cooperation with warehouse operators. Tests showed that in fumigating beans under tarpaulins better stacking and more careful application of the fumigant greatly increased the effectiveness of the treatment. The addition of minute amounts of fumigant in liquid form to 1-pound packages of beans, as they are sacked on a packing machine, kills all weevil eggs and prevents infestation in the package while in retail channels.

13. Use of egg-washing machines studied.—A majority of plants using eggwashing machines are not obtaining optimum results in the washing and sanitizing of dirty eggs. This is because of failure to follow strictly manufacturers' instructions as indicated by a study of the mechanical performance of 9 different types of egg-washing machines in 31 commercial plants. The study further found that water alone or with a detergent will not do a satisfactory cleansing job; that some scraping or brushing action is necessary. The study recommended also that washed eggs be marked for early consumption and not placed in storage, reminding handlers that washed eggs-like dirty eggs-show greater quality decline in storage than do originally clean eggs.

14. Service programs improve methods of marketing farm products.-Work in many States has produced considerable improvement in proper identification of grade, particularly for perishable products. Establishment of the maximum-grade quality consistent with the raw materials harvested is in most situations to the advantage of both producer and dealer. For example, in Indiana and Illinois, marked improvement in grading, icing, and packaging sweet corn and in moving it quickly to consumers' markets has greatly increased volume of sales.

In Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Virginia, Maine, and other States, concentration and grading centers for eggs have been established and wholesale buyers are informed of the availability of graded eggs. This has resulted in increased volume of sales and better prices. Some of these programs were coordinated with State labeling regulations.