STATEMENT OF FOREST NOEL, AUCTION MARKET OPERATOR, CATTLE AND SHEEPMAN, LEWISTOWN, MONT.; VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICAN NATIONAL AUCTION MARKETS ASSOCIATION; REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MONTANA STOCK GROWERS ASSOCIATION: PAST PRESIDENT OF THE MONTANA BEEF COUNCIL

Mr. NOEL. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee; my name is Forest Noel. I own and operate a livestock market and a ranch in Lewiston, Mont.

concern.

I am past president of the Montana Beef Council and a director of the National Beef Council. The Montana Beef Council is a going Its directors are composed of representatives of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, the Montana Auction Markets Association, the Farm Bureau, the Montana Packers' Association and the Montana Retailers' Association.

All the markets in Montana, at the insistence of the cattlemen, initiated the markoff system in the fall of 1954. During that time of almost 22 years only one producer has requested a refund of his contribution, which he received promptly, thus creating a mandate by the cattlemen of Montana that the markets in that State make a deduction for the Montana Beef Council to promote Montana Beef and Montana Feeder Cattle.

It has been my privilege to talk to meetings of livestock producers in 38 States the last 2 years. I have found them to be almost unanimous in their desire to create and support an organization to promete the sale and consumption of their product.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I, as vice president of the American National Auction Markets Association, am authorized to represent that association at this hearing.

The auction markets across the Nation believe that any improvement made in the service rendered their consignors will likewise improve the health of their industry. Realizing that service is all they have to offer for the tariff received from the producers for the selling of their livestock, the auction markets are fully convinced that the producers of livestock in this Nation desire this added service by their commissionmen.

The auction markets are only too glad to assist the producers in creating a fund to promote the consumption of their product. We recommend the passage of H. R. 5244, which would allow us, as auction market operators, to legally, under the Stockyards and Packers Act by which we are supervised, make a voluntary checkoff when livestock are marketed the purpose of this checkoff being to create a fund whereby the livestock producers of this country could meet the evergrowing competition of other foods through an organization that could promote the consumption of red meats.

This would eliminate the necessity of Government subsidies and Government controls so that we might maintain what we believe to be a competitive free enterprise system of handling a serious problem which is threatening the economic welfare of our Nation's livestock producers.

I have a statement that was published in the Montana Stock Growers Association local paper, showing the receipts received during the months of November, December, and January.

We collected at the markets in Montana a total of $13,274.53 on the cattle sold at the markets in Montana. We sent to the National Livestock and Meat Board $5,053.41. We sent to the National Beef Council $2,175.25.

The balance remained in Montana to promote Montana beef and Montana feeder cattle.

I would like to tear this out and file it as a part of the record for the Montana Beef Council.

Mr. POAGE. Without objection it will be included. (The data is as follows:)

MONTANA BEEF PROMOTION FUNDS

A report of receipts and disbursements of contributions received and distributed by the Montana Beef Council for the quarter including November and December 1956 and January 1957.

Receipts (during November and December 1956 and January

1957):

Collected by

Arrow Commission Co., Billings Public Stock- Number head
yards

Amount

$624.97

Cattle,

10, 972

Great Falls Livestock Commission, Great Falls 26, 958

Havre Livestock Commission, Havre

18, 111

1,299. 45 186. 10 432.65

1, 347.98 905.55

Miles City Livestock Auction, Miles City-
Missoula Livestock Auction, Missoula _.
Montana Livestock Auction, Butte.......
Sig Ellingson & Co., Billings Public Yards_.
Yellowstone Livestock Commission, Sidney
Sent in by individuals on direct sales___.
Refund.

Total receipts--.

Disbursements:

Sent to National Livestock and Meat Board..
Sent to National Beef Council_

Montana Beef Council expenditures:

(Note: No salaries are paid by the Montana Beef Council. All services are donated by directors and

officers.)

Mr. COOLEY. How did you do that in Montana, in the face of what

Mr. Poage has said about the Packers and Stockyards Act?
Mr. NOEL. Mr. Cooley, I would like to know myself.

(Laughter.)

Mr. COOLEY. You did not have any difficulty about it?

Mr. NOEL. Yes, sir; we have had difficulty about it. And we have been threatened by the Department that they would close our markets. Mr. COOLEY. Because of the voluntary checkoff?

Mr. NOEL. Yes; because of the voluntary checkoff.

Mr. COOLEY. If I understand it, you did not exact it from any farmer, he voluntarily agreed for the checkoff to be made and for you to transmit the money to the places where it was to be used?

Mr. NOEL. That is right.

Mr. COOLEY. It was voluntary.

Mr. NOEL. Because of the coordination and cooperation and the demand of the ranchers of Montana, the Department has not seen fit yet to exercise that authority.

Mr. COOLEY. I unfortunately missed Mr. Butz' statement, but I have now finished reading it. I would like to ask you whether or not anybody in the beef industry has tried to convince Mr. Butz that a change should be made?

Mr. NOEL. Yes, sir; I have tried for 2 years; yes, sir.

Mr. COOLEY. You cannot change his mind?

Mr. NOEL. I cannot change the Department's mind. I want you to understand every market in Montana is a posted Federal market. Mr. COOLEY. Are the farmers out there pleased with what you have been able to do?

Mr. NOEL. We have had one man

Mr. COOLEY. All except the one man?

Mr. NOEL. Yes, sir. And I would like to explain about this one man, if I may.

(Laughter.)

Mr. NOEL. He happens to be a man that is a little bit sore at Forest Noel. He is not sore at the system. He lives just 3 miles from my own market.

Mr. COOLEY. I thought you were going to say he was related to Earl Butz.

(Laughter.)

Mr. NOEL. He lives just 3 miles from my own market and he trucks them 110 miles to another man's market and then asks for his money back.

Mr. COOLEY. Thank you.

Mr. POAGE. The Chair is much obliged to you, Mr. Noel.

Mr. NOEL. It is has been a pleasure to be here. And I really believe in this legislation or I would not have traveled over 38 States at my own expense and my own time. I really believe in this program.

Mr. POAGE. I think the committee will take official knowledge of the fact that that is true of all of you or that you would not have attended as you all have.

Mr. Fulk, whom would you like to call next?

Mr. FULK. I thought maybe you would be interested in knowing how a State has operated here recently. And I would like to call on No. 55 on the list; B. R. Smith, cattleman from Green Pond, S. C. Mr. POAGE. We will be glad to hear from him.

Mr. FULK. If he can explain what they have done in that one State it might serve as an example.

STATEMENT OF B. R. SMITH, GREEN POND, S. C., CATTLEMAN; SOUTH CAROLINA LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION; SOUTH CAROLINA LIVESTOCK COUNCIL

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman and members of the Agriculture Committee, as stated, my name is B. R. Smith. I am president of the South Carolina Livestock Council and immediate past president of the South Carolina Livestock Producers Association and a member of the board of that organization, chairman of the Farm Bureau Livestock Committee, in South Carolina.

We in South Carolina, as has been stated here by many witnesses, have felt for some time that a program of some kind for the promotion of meats and meat products could help us.

And in so thinking we realized that it was difficult to launch a program that would be satisfactory to everybody. We knew that we could not get anybody who would give substantial contributions to promote our program.

So in our State we went out and we contacted as many of the producers, small farmers as well as large farmers, and asked their opinion on it before we ever offered it to them.

We asked their opinion. And we got very satisfactory results. We did not attempt to sell them a program on an automatic checkoff. We sold them a program on a strictly voluntary basis.

We have been operating in South Carolina since the first day of January, and I think that our record speaks for itself in that our first month's collections or first month's contributions, on a voluntary basis, were $574, strictly not solicited at markets, but by and through contacts in the field.

I was told by the office, our secretary, yesterday, that for March already we have turned in almost $1,100, which is indication enough to me that the producers want this program.

In South Carolina we have just one posted market. That market handles about from 600 to 1,000 cattle a week, and about 2,600 to 3,000 hogs a week.

Of course, that man cannot participate in this program due to this barrier here in the Packers and Stockyards Act.

However, his people have indicated they do want to participate. So they are making direct contributions to the council themselves.

You can see there when I made the statement that we have only one yard coming under the Packers and Stockyards Act that the National Livestock and Meat Board is not getting very much money out of South Carolina to carry on their activities.

In our constitution and bylaws we have inserted that we will make, if it is acceptable to the National Livestock and Meat Board, an annual contribution or a monthly contribution or a semiannual contribution at their place.

I think that is indication enough that if we support the amendment to the Packers and Stockyards Act that we have no intentions of interfering with the National Livestock and Meat Board in their activities.

I rather think that you will follow me in thinking that we feel like we can help support it more, by the checkoff system, because we feel that the national research program has to be. We feel that the promotional program has to be.

I was a cotton grower until 1949. I quit cotton because I didn't like to be told by the Government how many acres I could plant and where I could sell my cotton when I got through.

So I quit that and put it into grass.

(Off the record.)

Mr. SMITH. I came here primarily to ask you people to help us in this problem.

In South Carolina we felt that we certainly had to have an organization to administer these funds when they were collected.

The question is going to come up as to how we will handle these funds. We have a definite program in South Carolina. We feel like we are going to follow it to the letter.

We have promised our people that they will be informed as to how we are spending their money. And we intend to do that monthly by what we have now adopted as the South Carolina stock reporter, our council reporter.

So we are very much in favor of an amendment before the House now. We support it. The South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation is supporting the amended bill, not the original bill, but the amended bill, as it so stands.

The South Carolina Producers Association backs it. And all of the county producer associations in our State have instructed me to go on record as supporting this amended bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. POAGE. Thank you very much. We are delighted to have had you.

Unfortunately, those bells mean a rollcall in the House at the present time and Members are going to have to appear on the flor.

We don't know what we will do this afternoon, what the situation will be this afternoon. There may be rollcalls a little later on.

But the way we have been making progress on the bill now before the House the last 2 or 3 weeks it will be probably 2 or 3 more before we take a final vote.

So we will come back at 2 o'clock with the anticipation of completing the hearings at that time.

I notice that we have only a few more on this list. And then I notice Mr. Newman is here and we want to hear from a number of other of our friends who are here.

I saw Mr. Baker a while ago. And we want to hear from those gentleman and will attempt to do that this afternoon. You will all bear in mind the attendance of this committee this afternoon entirely depends on what takes place on the floor.

Before we close for the morning, I ask unanimous consent to have inserted in the record several telegrams and other documents which have been given to us to be inserted in the record.

Hearing no objection, they will be so inserted in the record at this point.