Senator CAPEHART. That is my understanding. It was to protect the farmer against the unscrupulous buyer.

Mr. CARPENTER. And he should be protected, if we can do it within. the realm of economics.

Senator CAPEHART. But until you do get price ceilings on the producer or the grower, I do not see where it works at all.

Senator BRICKER. It seems to me this was in the regulations during World War II; was it not?

Mr. CARPENTER. No, it was not, Senator Bricker, nor were poultry and eggs even subject to renegotiation because of perishability and having to move them fast. The renegotiation board specifically exempted Government contracts covering poultry and eggs.

Senator BRICKER. I do know that the provision was put in to protect the legitimate producer.

Senator BENTON. I think Senator Williams will be very interested in your testimony.

Senator BRICKER. I will send a copy over to him to get his comments. Senator BENTON. We will send him a copy of this and he may have something he will want to insert in the record that bears on this testi

mony.

Senator BRICKER. He has a little adverse interest. You represent the processors?

Mr. CARPENTER. Our members represent both growers, processors, hatcheries, and so forth. The membership of the institute is across the board, but the basic membership, you are correct, sir, are processing and marketing men. But our membership includes more than that.

Senator BRICKER. Is there any difference between your producer and your processor? Is there any diversity of interest or conflict of interest. between the processor

Mr. CARPENTER. I think the next witness will give you the affirmative answer that there is none.

I would like to make one more comment, if I may, Senator Benton. Senator BENTON. Yes.

Mr. CARPENTER. Price controls are unworkable because you cannot change controls fast enough to meet the rapidly changing conditions in the industry. We do move very rapidly in this thing, and you can be handcuffed before you realize it. I will give you one very specific example. The duck industry was caught in this price freeze because they had no parity consideration under the Secretary of Agriculture's doctrine. So they were immediately frozen. They are either illegal or out of business, virtually. They are producing now their annual big crop of ducks. You cannot consume them all currently, so that means they must go in storage for the period when they are not producing ducks, and for 4 months we have asked OPS for relief for the duck industry; to date we have not had a single reply.

Senator BENTON. What is it that put them out of business, again? Mr. CARPENTER. The price freeze froze them at a definite price because ducks do not enjoy a parity ratio, as do eggs, chickens, and turkeys.

Senator BENTON. Oh, I see.

Mr. CARPENTER. So they had no flexibility at all, they were just frozen right here and now they cannot buy the feed and so on at low enough prices to produce at a profit.

Senator CAPEHART. Do we understand that anyone selling ducks today does not know whether they are or are not operating under the law?

Mr. CARPENTER. I imagine that is what they think, sir.

Senator CAPEHART. They do not know whether or not they are violating the law or living within the law?

Mr. CARPENTER. Correct.

Mr. TOBIN. For the record, I would say that ducks are in no different positions from radios or phonographs, Senator. They are frozen at the highest price in the base period and it is very specific and there is no reason why a seller of ducks should not be informed of that and govern himself accordingly, but the difficulty is that there is no tailored dollars and cents ceiling for ducks which, it is reasonable to suppose, would provide storage-carrying charges if and when they are issued. This is a season when marketings of ducks are heavier than current consumptions and are normally frozen, stored, and kept for fall outlet. So the expectation is, or there is doubt in the minds of those who would store, whether they can recover their storage expense.

Senator BENTON. Mr. Carpenter, you have certainly been a clear and concise witness and we have enjoyed listening to you. I thank you on behalf of the committee. Your charts are particularly interesting.

Senator CAPEHART. Mr. Chairman, I move those charts be made a part of the record.

Senator BENTON. Without objection, the charts will be included in the record.

I MAY | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec 1 Jan | Feb | Mee 1 Apr 1

1950

Source - Delaware-Maryland Crop Reporting Service

1951

-2500

-1500

(Mr. Carpenter's prepared statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF CLIFF D. CARPENTER, PRESIDENT, THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN POULTRY INDUSTRIES

I am Cliff D. Carpenter, president of the Institute of American Poultry Industries, Chicago, Ill. The institute, chartered in 1926, is a nonprofit organization engaged in national quality improvement programs designed to bring consumers higher quality poultry and eggs.

We represent directly more than 1,250 companies and individuals engaged in the production, breeding, hatching, processing, and marketing of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas, eggs and egg products.

Our members are in direct contact with hundreds of thousands of producers and consumers throughout the country. The institute's membership and programs, therefore, are directly or indirectly involved in the production, processing, marketing, and merchandising of poultry and poultry products in about 3,000 of the 3,071 counties in the 48 States.

CONTROLS DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD

Our national representation into every segment of this vast poultry industry provides us with a grass roots industry reaction of great weight. It is the considered opinion of our board of directors, of our membership, and of all our industry contacts, that price controls, including those provided for under the Defense Production Act and the special amendments bill S. 1397, are and would be unworkable and conducive to great confusion and chaotic disturbance on the farm and in the market place.

The very flexibility of the production potential for this industry, in itself, the surest guaranty against inadequate supplies and exorbitant prices. Poultry and egg production can shift and change quickly and dramatically. To "straitjacket" or shackle the industry would destroy this flexibility and would be nothing short of disastrous for all concerned.

PROGRESS UNDER FREE MARKETS BENEFITS CONSUMERS

The poultry industry is no longer a farmyard operation, with incidental farm income. Today's modern poultry industry is a major agricultural enterprise, grossing more than 5,000,000 farmers about 32 billion dollars a year.

In 1950 chickens and eggs were either the first, second, or third biggest agricultural crop in 32 of the 48 States.

In 1950 we produced 616 million commercial broilers, compared with 487 million in 1949 and none in 1925. And for the first 41⁄2 mouths of 1951 we are producing at the rate of 700 million commercial broilers a year.

In 1950 we produced 60 billion eggs, compared with 35 billion in 1925. Per capita egg consumption is currently at the rate of 410 per year, an all-time high. In 1950 we produced 44 million turkeys, compared with 18 million in 1929, the earliest record available.

Modern mechanized production methods have made poultry and eggs efficient farm labor enterprises. Today 1 man can take care of 20,000 to 40,000 commercial broilers, or 4,000 to 6,000 laying hens, or 10,000 to 12,000 turkeys.

This means 1 grower can produce 360,000 pounds of broiler meat a year (4 crops of 30,000 birds each), or 800,000 eggs a year, or over 200,000 pounds of turkey meat a year.

It takes less feed to produce a pound of poultry meat today than any other type of meat. A 3-pound meat chicken can be produced on about 10 pounds of feed. In other words, a 100-pound bag of broiler feed produces about 30 pounds of broiler meat. In 1925 100 pounds of feed only produced about 20 pounds of chicken meat.

Modern, mechanized operations and improved techniques have increased poultry processing efficiency 124 percent in the last 10 years-from 23.8 birds put through a plant per man-hour in 1941 to 53.5 birds in 1951.

FREE MARKETS ENCOURAGE ABUNDANT SUPPLIES AT REASONABLE PRICES

Because of their short production cycle, poultry and egg supplies can be stepped up more rapidly than any other product in animal agriculture. A fertile egg in an incubator can become a 3-pound meat chicken in 13 to 14 weeks, or a laying pullet in 6 months.

Thus, in free markets poultry and egg production and prices can and do adjust quickly to supply and demand factors.

The average live price received by commercial broiler producers during the first 4 months of 1951 were about the same as, or less than, OPA ceilings during World War II-and they were substantially below prices received during 1946, 1947, and 1948.

In 1950 the average factory worker earned enough money in 25 minutes to buy a dozen eggs compared with 32 minutes in 1946, 30 minutes in 1940, 42 minutes in 1935. Thus, such workers could buy 29 eggs with 1 hour's pay in 1950, contrasted to only 17 eggs in 1935.