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Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993, November 01, 1962, Image 34

Image and text provided by Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86075096/1962-11-01/ed-1/seq-34/

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Patton Praises Kennedy Farm
Bill at Montana FU Convention
PASSAGE of the Kennedy Adminis
tration's farm bill, which has meant
a $1.1 billion increase in farm income,
was a significant advancement for fam
ily agriculture, but it must be expanded
to other commodities and there must
be additional improvement in prices,"
declared James G. Patton, president
of the National Farmers Union.
Speaking at the 47th annual conven
tion of the Montana Farmers Union
held Oct. 24 to 27 at Great Falls, Patton
called on farmers to unite behind ef
forts in the next session of Congress
to bolster the income and supply-adjust
ment features of present farm pro
grams.
. .
Officers Re-elected
The present officers were re-elected
without opposition. Leonard Kenfield,
president; Gordon Twedt, vice presi
dent; Ralph F. Cook, secretary-treas
Margaret Bucher, director of
urer;
education; Ted Townsend, editor, Farm
Union News; Rene Banks, director
of insurance; Don Gibson, conductor,
and Larry Holtz, doorkeeper.
ers
Patton stated that "it is essential for
the national interest that free, inde
pendent farmers win out over vertical
integration and monopoly.
He warned that the American people
would forever rue the day that food
production from the farm gate to the
supermarket became controlled by a
9 9
few large corporations. Should this
happen," he continued, "we would then
be faced with food scarcities and high
retail food prices rather than surpluses
and government storage costs."
The National Farmers Union presi
dent declared that had it not been for
government farm programs to assist
small farmers in obtaining a decent in
come, the corporate take-over of agri
culture would now be all but complete.
Garish Attempt
Patton termed the proposal of the
Committee of Economic Development,
which he said recommended that mil
lions of farmers be starved off the land
by deliberately collapsing the farm
price support structure, "a garish at
tempt at a corporate take-over of our
food producing industry."
He expressed disappointment in "the
degeneration of the Republican party's
farm policy . . . and the present con
tinued obstructionist tactics of GOP
leaders in the area of farm legislation.
Patton predicted that Knowles Dam,
which was cut out of the Public Works
bill this year, would inevitably be built,
despite private power protests. Power
projects such as Knowles, he said, are
necessary for the maximum utilization
of our natural resources.
Participate in Government
T. S. Steichen, general manager of
the Farmers Union Central Exchange,
urged delegates to make government
their business, to inform themselves
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Leonard Kenfield was re-elected pres
ident of the Montana Farmers Union,
as were all other officers. This photo
was taken by MF-S as Kenfield ad
dressed the 47th annual convention in
Great Falls.
of candidates, issues and the platforms;
to build a government that has the in
terests of the farmer and his coopera
tives at heart.
Steichen praised President Kennedy
as one who is sympathetic to the farm
er and Secretary of Agriculture as the
"farmer's friend." Further progress
in farm legislation, he said, depends on
a favorable Congress which will pass
farm bills proposed by the Administra
tion.
Referring to the co-op tax contro
versy, Steichen said the Central Ex
change will pay about $11 million in
taxes from a gross of $96 million. Pow
er, oil and gas companies with their
depletion allowances and fast tax write
offs, get a better break than co-ops
anywhere, he stated.
The real victory for everyone,"
Steichen said, "will be when the gen
eral public accepts co-ops as the good,
honest, fair and decent businesses
farmers know they are.
U.N. Needed
< t
9 9
The United Nations and its place in
the world was the subject of an address
by Dr. J. Martin Klotsche, provost of
the University of Wisconsin at Milwau
kee.
"We desperately need the U.N.," he
said. "We cannot forever nourish the il
lusion that we are omnipotent. We must
squarely face the fact that the United
States, in this time of racing technology,
cannot maintain the peace of the world
unilaterally.
Dr. Klotsche said the U.N. has dealt
effectively with war situations, has
become more vigorous, and has ad
dressed itself to the basic problems
of human existence.
9 9
Medical Care
A plea for hospitalization insurance
for the aged under social security was
made by Dr. Arnold Hurtado, staff
member of the Permanente Clinic, Port
land, Ore.
criticized the American Medical
it was a major
block to enactment of hos
He
Association, saying
stumbling
pital care legislation.
that medical costs are great
brackets. Dr. Hurtado
Noting
in the older age
said it is important to find an answer
to the problem since the need is ob
vious.
None of the various proposals, includ
ing the existing Kerr-Mills bill fills the
need, he said, adding that insurance
companies recognize that they could
not provide a solution.
It is significant that after 20 years
they (Blue Cross) found adequate in
for the aged needs government
surance
help," he stated.
Other convention speakers were Gor
don Roth, director of public relations
for Farmers Union Grain Terminal
Assn., speaking in the absence of M.
W. Thatcher; Senator Lee Metcalf; Ed
Nelson, president of the Alberta Farm
ers union; P. J. Gilfeather, Great Falls,
MFU legal counsel; Robert McKenna,
Bozeman, chairman of the State Agri
cultural Stabilization and Conservation
committee; Glenn Long, St. Paul, gen
eral manager, Farmers Union Market
ing Assn., and James Umber, Helena,
president of the Montana AFL-CIO.
Resolutions
Montana Farmers Union went on rec
ord as favoring 100 per cent of parity
income for farm families "which would
of living comparable
hold our standard
to the rest of the country." They urged
adoption of marketing quotas expressed
in bushels and pounds based on a 5 to
10 history. Quotas should be limited
to discourage monopoly and specula
tion and encourage family type agri
culture, the resolution stated;
must be set to protect the fam
maxi
mums
ily farm, and there must be minimums
for each family farm operator, below
which there can be no reduction.
They asked that the present sugar
act be maintained but that marketing
quotas be strengthened and adequate
protection be provided for the northern
grower.
In other resolutions they strongly sup
ported enactment of a federal milk
marketing order; urged vigorous and
impartial enforcement of antitrust
laws, with vigorous enforcement of the
Packers and Stockyards Act; opposed
speculation, vertical integration and
"the monopolistic and unfair trade prac
tices of the big packers and some chain
stores," stating that this was a hazard
to agriculture and could be curbed only
by programs geared to the strengthen
ing of the family farm.
Low-Cost Credit
Farmers Union urged that adequate
low-cost, long-term, variable payment
credit be made available for purchase
of land, machinery, housing and foun
dation herds; favored expansion of
federal crop insurance until it is avail
able to farmers in every county in the
U.S., and that it should apply to every
crop grown and every kind of livestock
produced.
The resolution on "research" stated
that "as everyone benefits from re
search, consumer and producer alike,
we oppose commodity assessments
paid by producers; therefore we are
opposed to the forming of a Wheat
Commission in Montana.
Disappointment was expressed over
failure of the House of Representatives
to include Knowles-Paradise in the pub
lic works bill, and urged that its in
clusion be with all possible speed.
Farmers Union members were urged
to take the initiative in a program to
increase the patronage of local and
regional cooperatives, insurances and
credit unions . . . that they resist the
formation of any needless and divisive
group which would weaken the tradi
tional alliance of the cooperative and
the Farmers Union.
9 9
Conservationists
Schedule Meeting
THE ANNUAL CONVENTION of the
Montana Soil and Water Conservation
Districts will be held in Livingston this
year. It will be a 3-day meeting, start
ing on Wednesday, Nov, 14th, according
to Leslie Criswell, Hysham, President
of the Montana group.
Governor Tim Babcock will attend the
luncheon meeting on Wednesday and
will be talking along the lines of the
general theme of the meeting, "Con
servation Builds Recreation.
A panel discussion will lead off the
Wednesday morning session, Dr. W. F.
Clark, past president of the Conserva
tion Council, a professor at Eastern
Montana College of Education, will
moderate this group discussion.
Alf Larson, past president of the
Minnesota State Soil and Water Con
servation Districts wi 1 ' be the keynote
speaker at the Wednesday evening ban
quet. All meetings will be held in the
Elks Hall, Livingston.
Another panel on Thursday morning
will explore the subject, "How can we
get the general public to accept more
of the financial burden of recreation.
»»
g HailSCll Heads
♦ 9
Flying Farmers
AT A RECENT meeting of the Mon
tana Flying Farmers held at Conrad
Ermal Hansen, Fort Benton, was elect
ed president. Earl Keister, Conrad,
was named vice president, and Rosella
Tempero, Worden, was re-elected secre
tary-treasurer.
Directors are Arnold Sorenson, Krem
lin; Leonard Sorenson, Bozeman; Mor
ten Mortenson, Circle; Henry Wood,
Gildford,
Ledger.
Mrs. Warren Jones, Harlowton, was
selected as queen for 1963. She will be
crowned at a fly-in at the Sam Longhus
ranch at Big Timber on June 2, 1963.
and Woodrow McCracken,

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