D © 0=0 fl O M. M £ F THE ACTION PUBLICATION OF THE MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU Vol. 44, No. 4 Published Monthly by Michigan Farm Bureau April 1, 1966 r.;TT'i TTTT'i. i, • ••••••: . . . T 3 ! ! ^ 1 ^ 2 g W M OUTSTANDING YOUNG FARMER — C a l v i n Lutz (32), repre- MICHIGAN JAYCEES—in annual competition, a w a r d e d Lutz sentative of today's new breed of f a r m businessmen, is pic- the u Most O u t s t a n d i n g " title f r o m a m o n g 19 candidates nom- tured in his home office where telephone, radio, adding inated by local Chapters. A nursery and fruit farmer, he owns machine a n d efficient bookkeeping .system tell the story of 589 acres near Kaleva. Five years ago he pioneered the de- modern f a r m i n g . A complete double-entry accounting system velopment a n d introduction of the new " M i d w a y " strawberry w i t h individual crop records allows monthly checks on profit which now represents 60 per cent of Michigan's nine-million or loss. Calvin is a Manistee County Farm Bureau member. dollar strawberry industry. (Photo: Manistee News-Advocate) // "Surpluses" Become "Reserves Congress and the Administration are taking a n e w look at agri- culture, Michigan Farm Bureau members found on their recent visit to the Nation's Capital. out of each 100 collected by the Internal Revenue Service. One Michigan Congressman MINIMUM WAGE told the group that in his opinion, Senator Basil Brown (D-Highland Park) is urging an in- Only a year ago, "Farm Con- One witness recommended a "inflation at the present time is crease in m i n i m u m w a g e levels covering Michigan work- trols" and "Agricultural Surpluses" 10^ increase in price support to ers. A bill raising the minimum to $1.25 an hour this year, not a threat," that it could be, keynoted consideration of farm encourage increased acreage. but was being "watched closely." and $1.50 an hour next year was recently introduced. legislation. With new recognition Others opposed such an increase, Meanwhile, the federal govern- of the world food crisis, the pop- saying that the action would place T h e current l a w provides $1.15 p e r h o u r i n 1966 and ment will be mailing out checks ulation explosion, and triggered a ceiling on prices and limit $1.25 per hour in 1967. totalling $146 billion this year. by India's current famine riots, markets. Senator Brown's bill would also require p a y m e n t of time Farm Bureau members found This amount, exceeding by near- the so-called unmanageable sur- ly one-half of the so-called annual a n d a half after eight hours per day or forty hours per pluses have now become needed support for restoring appropria- tions for the school milk program. b u d g e t , includes payments to week, and would r e d u c e the n u m b e r of weeks a person reserves. One Congressman said he found Social Security recipients, railroad must work before coming u n d e r the bill from the present In a recent Air-Tour of Wash- it difficult to explain the Adminis- retirees, and other programs which 13 weeks to only 10 weeks. ington, members of the Farm trations recommended cuts in the are not included in the budget Bureau group attended a number school milk program while at the figures but are supported by var- Meanwhile, a substitute for a bill to extend the minimum of committee hearings, including same time there were recommen- ious earmarked taxes. w a g e to farm workers has now b e e n reported out by one on bills "to protect domestic dations for inauguration of a feder- Few households in our nation t h e House L a b o r subcommittee of Congress. As the infla- consumers against an inadequate ally-supported school breakfast d o not look to direct federal tionary consequences of the bill b e c o m e m o r e obvious, supply of soybeans and soybean program. checks, or indirectly to income strong nationwide opposition is building, which in turn m a y products." The farmers discovered little resulting in part or in whole from affect the views of m a n y Congressmen. Testimony included need for apparent concern about inflation federal contracts, federal employ- In official policy resolution, Farm Bureau delegates have more research on soybean varie- and the rising national debt now ment or some form of federal aid. opposed any increase in the minimum wage and the exten- ties, ways to increase yields and well above the 300 billion mark. It seemed to the Farm Bureau sion of coverage to additional groups, calling such action to increase acreage itself. Goals They learned that taxpayers must delegation that this concentration inflationary and of a nature to reduce employment in those were discussed aimed at increas- pay 13 billion dollars each year, of spending power in Washington ing 1966 soybean acreage by two solely on interest, a sum amount- segments of the work-force most in need of jobs. creates a formidable political or three million acres. ing to approximately ten dollars power. TWO April 1, 1966 MICHIGAN FARM NEWS Editorial President's Column NOW WE KNOW. • • Good or bad, farmers need to know where they stand. If the operating statement threat- ens to show a loss instead of hoped-for profit, :: ~ --p..- it. I wish that more members would make use few fanners put off adding things up to make I,~ /' ~ So.a.)' of it. certain. . ( "- - ~ ~ The opportunity is one for open discussion. Perhaps the knowledge of where Michigan , It is there not only in county and other meet- farmers stand with the Administration in Wash- ), '\ ings. It is a plan~ed, organized opportunity ington and with Michigan members majority party there is the most important of the r in our Community Farm Bureaus. No member needs to stand aside and say single thing to come out of the recent Farm that other members have their groups. Any Bureau Air-Tour to the capitol. member can get in on the game if he wants Summed up, it comes out something like to get neighbors together and form a group this: A1ichigan farmers do not have a labor of his own. The County Farm Bureau will help problem of significance, and siru:e everyone you organize. Just ask them. has a right to "participate in the production of \Ve do a lot of talking and discussing whether America" farmers must expect to be ~ed as a we are in groups or not. Discussion is a kind dumping ground for unskilled labor as their of cooperative way. of tackling the affairs thqt contribution toward helping solve the welfare concern us. Why should we waste so much of problems of society. At a noon luncheon with Michigan's Demo-. cratic members to Congress, 67 Farm Bureau "l---- it just chatting and not intending to put our thoughts to work? Organized Community Farm members on this year's tour (see story, page 9) ~MeZ1 .=::.0 Bureaus offer a way of using discussion in a planned way to reach channels where our ideas were honored by the presence of Congressmen IT'S TH~ ONLY WAY THE WIFE AND I can count. Paul Todd, John Mackie, "\Villiam Ford, \Veston I have talked to very few Farm Bureau mem- CAN GET AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS IN TOWN! Vivian and Billie Farnum. Senator Philip Hart bers who didn't have something to say about sent a top personal representative to meet with what Farm Bureau ought to be doing. I think GOLDEN the group. that every member ought to have a voice in The lawmakers represented many important Farm Bureau and farm affairs. But the mem- committees of Congress, including the House ber needs to speak as a farmer and member ANNIVERSARY agricultural committee, where Congressman where it counts. So much of our conversation Mackie serves as a member. After the luncheon, ends with just talking things over. questions put to Mackie and the others, got Many of the ideas that guide Farm Bureau down to the heart of much which is bothering Even if they had to bring the cows along "to town" come out of our Community Discussion Groups. farmers. with them, dairymen, some 900 strong, moved into the Discussions don't need to be limited to state Penetrating remarks by Calvin Lutz, Mich- auditorium of Michigan State University, March 22, for and national issues. Many of our formal topics igan's newly selected "Most Outstanding" young the Golden Anniversary meeting of the Michigan Milk go that way, but ... our opportunity doesn't fanner, and a man who has had bitter experi- Producers Association. end there. ence with the farm labor shortage, got things Fifty years of marketing milk for Michigan dairy farm- I was asked to talk at the Farm Bureau "Pres- started off. ers, and doing so in a highly effective manner, is no ident's Conference" in February. At that con- "The Midwest is almost in a labor crisis and small contribution to Michigan agriculture. This milk, ference, I started a game of "sic 'em." No, I yet, Secretary of Labor Wirtz refuses to recog- more than three-billion pounds of it last year, brought wasn't trying to get a dog fight going. I waS nize it. Instead, the big push is for an increase more than 127 million-dollars to member dairy farmers. trying to get our boards to put members to in the minimum wage and to iru:lude farmers. Of this amount, more than 19 million-dollars went to work saying that the most important problems Why should this be at a time when President dairy fanners in fiscal 1965 because of the bargaining are right home in the counties and then doing Johnson says inflation is the number-one domes- ability they had gained through their Michigan Milk . something about them. tic problem?" Lutz asked. Producers Association as they worked togethe~ to win Members ARE concerned about local affairs Mackie's reply: "I do not agree that inflation and maintain premium prices over Federal- Order mini- - taxes, schools, annexations, local government, is our most important domestic problem. The mums on bottling milk .. safety - and a dozen other things. Each county c Secretary of the Treasury says that it could be, Membership size, compared to milk output, tells a has its own major problems. and is watching it closely, but at the present startling story of what has happened through the years I might be able to start the other half of time it is not a threat." Mackie said that he in- to all of agriculture, with production increasing even as this game of "sic 'em" right here. I would ask vestigated every farm labor shortage claim, and farm numbers dwindle. the members to start the ball rolling. Members found that "at least half of the problems re- can be leaders, too. You can organize programs Thirty years ago, there were more than 18,000 members sulted from the attitudes of farmers themselves." of the Michigan Milk Producers Association. And back in your county to put Farm Bureau in the front He turned the rest of the question over to then, in 1936, less than a billion pounds of milk were line of action. You can make yourselves felt in William Ford, who represents Michigan's 15th produced by these members with a value only a bit more the county as you have never done before. You .. district in the Detroit area, and is a member than 17 million-dollars. can use Farm Bureau as it should be used. of the House Labor Committee. This past year, with less than 10,000 members, produc- We should remove one of the and their wishes for part of the Farm Bureau program, scope of striving. The Farm Bureau Women have her speedy recovery. they have set their goals on a high Not only did the Farm Bureau plane. Yet the action taken to \Vomen generate a growing pride demonstrated that cooperation is Long-time, active members of the Livingston County pursue those goals was always in their work, but they achieved not merely a matter of adding Farm Bureau, Afr. and "A/rs. Anderson were involved in an practical and down to earth. a place of high regard in the one member's efforts to those of automobile accident, A/arch 6, which resulted in the death The other day I came across minds of many other organiza- another. They have shown that of Clayton, and serious in;ury to "Alary Edith. She is re- a speech made by one of the (ions and the public in general. in working together the benefits covering at Sparrow Hospital, Lansing. leaders of the Farm Bureau 'Vom- There was strong justification and results are compounded and en iWhose earlier years. What for this place of esteem. Through multiplied. The committee also shares the loss felt by the St. Clnir this Wf>man said becomes a dis- their earlv efforts a considerable This, I think, is the monument County Farm Bureau 'Vomen with the passing of Mrs. tinct description of what the number ~f county health units that the Farm Bureau \Vomen Glenn Bolton (the former Adeline Ball), who was well- Farm Bureau Women have been. were established. The Farm Bu- have built to themselves through kno{l;'1l for her dedicated efforts in the women's program. She says, "We are striving to reau \Vomen were active in or- their years of achievement. MICHIGAN FARM NEWS April 1, 1966 NINE COMING ELECTIONS "MOST IMPORTANT" Washington Tour Group Urged to Become Active Michigan farm leaders taking part in the recent Air-Tour to the nation's capital, were told that if they dislike what Con- gress is doing they have it within their power to cause a change in direction. Speaking was Jack Lynn, Legislative Director for the Ameri- can Farm Bureau Federation, who said that the most important single thing that could be done by farmers is to see that