Farmers pick a fight

Press, 14 December 1977, Page 8

Farmers pick a fight

NZPA staff correspondent I Washington Six hundred tractors* cor n-pickers, fertiliserspreaders, and pick-up trucks have rolled into Washington bearing farmers demanding higher prices for their products. The number was far below the 10,000 vehicles some farmer-organisers had predicted but the rally on the grounds of the Washington Monument and others like it in about 30 state capitals served to underline growing discontent among the nation’s farmers.

Depressed commodity prices, high costs, and heavy debt have combined to hurt many farmers. The tractor parades, organised by American Agriculture, a Colorado-based group, is intended to be followed this week by a national strike. Members of the movement! say they will not plant crops, sell any of their produce, or buy new equipment.! The vast majority of farm-| ers, however, are not ex-1 pected to heed the strike call, and the no-planting campaign will have no effect in the national food supply — storage bins already are bursting with goods that cannot be sold. It is unlikely that the farmer demonstrations and strike will get the farmers what they want — guaranteed profits. The protesting farmers are demanding prices equal to

I 100 per cent of parity, a fori | mula based on the ratio of 1 prices to costs. Parity now is at its lowest level since 1933, and if it were raised to 100 per cent would give farmers the same buying power they had in 1910-14 J the base period. If the farmers’ requests were met, parity prices for such crops as wheat and corn would be twice theit present levels. For wheat and corn thal would mean an extra SUSI2,OOOM pay-out by the Government, or at least that much in higher consumer costs.

The Agriculture Secretary (Mr Bob Bergland), burned in effigy at one farmer rally in Oklahoma on said: "The Government won’t give in to demands for guaranteed profits. "We think to provide a Federal guarantee of the cost of production is about as far as the Federal Gov- ■ ernment should go.” He said the demonstrations were unlikely to result in Congressional reconsideration of the farm bill which uses support levels based on the national average for the cost of production. Under this programme a farmer is guaranteed an amount at least equal to the average production cost. The Government also moved this year to reduce plantings by 10 to 20 per cent in area in the hope that lower production would increase returns.