Mr. TOBEY. May I ask a question there, Mr. Chairman? Mr. TOBEY. This has nothing to do with the bill, but in the discussion a moment ago, it was brought out by one of your associates, or Mr. Coffee, that alfalfa seed produced in one State would show a decrease in production in another State, and in some instances you would not expect seed, for instance, from Arizona, to produce alfalfa in the northern States. As I understand, seed which may produce in Nebraska would not be good across the line in Kansas or Idaho. Now, does that mean that the Maine seed potato will not produce in Idaho? Is it the thought that seeds produced in one State should not go across the State line? Mr. BLACK. I am going to ask Mr. McCall to answer that question; I would much prefer that he answer it, since he is an authority in this field. Mr. COFFEE. May I just make this observation with reference to that question? Mr. TOBEY. Yes. Mr. COFFEE. My statement in respect to that, I think, was that some northern-grown alfalfa seed would not be adapted to the southern States. Mr. MITCHELL. Yes. Mr. COFFEE. And vice versa; the southern-grown alfalfa seed would not be adapted to the North. Mr. TOBEY. Would not grow so well? Mr. COFFEE. That is right. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Tobey is a lawyer, and perhaps is not as familiar with seeds. Mr. TOBEY. I confess to be a better farmer than lawyer. Mr. McCALL. That depends upon the variety of the product. Some products would not do so well, while others have a very wide range of adaptation, and because of that difference in variety are adapted to different sections. Mr. TOBEY. The Idaho potato, of course, comes in competition with potatoes produced in many sections. Mr. MCCALL. Yes. Mr. TOBEY. I was just wondering whether it would be adapted to other sections of the country. Mr. MCCALL. The range might vary according to the particular conditions under which they are produced. Mr. CUMMINGS. I will tell you the reason for that, Mr. Tobey, later. Mr. TOBEY. Very well. Mr. MITCHELL. The next gentleman is Dr. Cox. Will you just give the reporter your full name and your official position? STATEMENT OF DR. JOSEPH F. COX Mr. Cox. My name is Joseph F. Cox. I am senior agronomist, Division of Program Planning, in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, and I have but a very brief statement that I will give to you. Mr. MITCHELL. We will be glad to hear you. Mr. Cox. Submitted herewith are copies of the 1938 agricultural conservation programs, by regions and States, available at this time. As you will note, an important feature of these programs is the encouragement of farm practices that conserve the soil. Mr. Ŏ. V. Wells, Chief of the Production Planning Section of the Division of Program Planning, estimates that in connection with the 1938 agricultural conservation program, between $85,000,000 and $100,000,000 will be awarded to farmers for satisfactory compliance in practices, a great part of which involves seedings of grasses and legumes. Administrator Tolley stated that more than 4,000,000 farmers cooperated in the 1937 program. It is expected that a larger number will cooperate in the 1938 agricultural conservation program, or a little more than two-thirds of our American farmers will cooperate. Since the programs require the planting of adapted red clover and alfalfa seed and seed of other soil-conserving crops, planted in accordance with sound practice, it is essential that representations in regard to source of seed and seed qualities be accurate and honest. For instance, in the soil-building practices applicable to New York, in this publication, on page 3, regarding the seeding of alfalfa, rate of credit, is stated: Seeding at least 12 pounds of hardy, adapted, northern-grown domestic or Canadian-grown alfalfa seed per acre, alone or in mixture. Mr. MITCHELL. Is there anything further you want to add, Dr. Cox? Mr. Cox. I will be glad to answer any questions, Mr. Chairman, that I may. Mr. COFFEE. Mr. Cox, suppose you give us some of the representations that are required with respect to adapted seed. Mr. Cox. In connection with the provisions of the agricultural conservation program, red clover and alfalfa are classed as soil-conserving crops and the planting of these crops is included among the soil-building practices. It is required that cooperating farmers furnish a statement in regard to the source of red clover and alfalfa seed, giving the name of the seedsman from whom the seed was purchased, and a statement as to the origin, or if the seed is bought from a farmer they must furnish an affidavit and have it signed also by the party from whom the seed is secured. That means that several million farmers are interested directly in getting adapted seed of clover and alfalfa. Mr. MITCHELL. That is, under the present Soil Conservation Act? Mr. Cox. In the program that has been built up for the regions and Mr. Cox. Yes. Mr. MITCHELL. A part of the regulations putting into effect the Soil Conservation Act. Mr. Cox. It is a requirement of the program that adapted seed be planted in accordance with sound practice. It is highly undesirable that Federal money be used to advance the interests of unscrupulous dealers in unadapted seed; that is, indirectly to them through purchases made by farmers, for seeds that are unadapted or that will not germinate, and are not in accord with sound practice. It would be an unsound policy for the Government to pay out money to farmers, or indirectly to unscrupulous handlers, for that class of seed. Hence, we have specified that the seed used in connection with the program must be adapted seed, planted in accordance with sound practice. The Agricultural Conservation Program has created a tremendous demands for seed of legumes and grasses, and, of course, the seed planted under the program should be clean and of good vitality. The matter of the quality of seed and adaptation has been a matter of great interest to those administering the A. A. A. programs in the regions and States in their effort in directing the payments along sound lines so that the Government, as well as the farmers will secure proper benefits from the vast quantity of seed being planted for agricultural conservation. We have found in several years some flagrant trade conditions that this act aims to correct. For instance, the matter of adaptation has been pretty well covered here by Dr. McCall. We have had very big movements of Argentine seed, of course; in one case, of four carloads, or 150,000 pounds of seed shipped from the Argentine to France, and then from France to Seattle. But, Mr. Brown, in charge of the Seed Act, found it did not meet the 65 percent germination, which was required of imported alfalfa seed. This shipment from Seattle was consigned to Utah so as to indicate on resale that it was from hardy points of origin. That shipment was made last spring. Another one was a three-carload shipment from California, southwest California, shipped up into Utah to be reshipped from there and distributed in regions and States in which Utah seed is adapted. Another one, I believe, was a six-carload shipment of sweetclover seed from Canada of very low germination, most of it 10 percent or less. This resulted in Mr. Coffee's suggestion to include sweetclover in the pending bill. This 240,000 pounds of nearly worthless sweetclover seed, came into this country, and were sold to our farmers, and our present Federal law could not control it. Another case is one that affects New York. About 130,000 pounds of seed from Arizona, was shipped to a Minnesota company and represented as Minnesota seed and sold in part to a New York dealer. Much of this seed reached the farmers in areas where the seed was not adapted for use. Sales are often made by radio by mail-order houses. It is very difficult under the law to control even the dealers within the State, but when you get seed from outside the State, the law cannot reach them effectively. The proposed new law would get back of State seed control agencies and control interstate shipments. There is just one other point. We find that a tremendous quantity, estimated in excess of 30,000,000 pounds of screenings that have been taken out of seed which are bought by certain types of seed companies that handle low-grade seed. These screenings and chaffs are used in preparing cheap brands of seed and frequently contain large quantities of weed seeds including noxious weed seeds. By highpressure methods of advertising through the radio and by mail-order shipments the requirements of the State seed laws are frequently evaded. Now, those seeds go to farmers who are in the class that have to buy cheap seed, because they do not have much money. Surveys have indicated that the present State and Federal law has not been able to effectively protect them against this type of misrepresentation. There is need for the Government to more adequately protect the farmer. In meeting the requirements of the agricultural conservation program, to conserve his land, the farmer needs sound, adapted grass and legume seed, and more protection in getting good seed. The protection is not there now. Another point to be considered in this connection is the great quantity of blue grass and red-top chaffs that are used in seed mixtures. Approximately 5,000,000 pounds of grass-seed chaffs that have very low germination, notting to several percent, are now sold annually in grass-seed mixtures. This bill that Congressman Coffee has introduced aims to control the movement in interstate commerce of chaff and screenings. This is necessary in order to protect the sound elements of the seed industry that come in competition against this sort of practice. The goodseeds man needs this protection because the practice of blending worthless chaff or screenings in preparing seed mixtures is a great injustice to him as well as the farmer. All the better element of the seed trade approve the reduction of the movement of screenings and chaff for seed purposes. Foul screenings and chaffs out to be burned if not fit for feed purposes and not shipped for planting purposes. The better seeds men are cooperating in the distribution of seed in accordance with adaptation. They are familiar with the results of the Bureau of Plant Industry's experiments and those of State agricultural experiment stations, and the better seeds men are cooperating in directing the movement of seed, of soybeans, corn, alfalfa, clover and other types of seed in accordance with their known climatic and soil adaptations. There is another group of seed dealers who absolutely disregard the important point to the grower of suitable adaptation. They would like to open the door to the uncontrolled distribution of unadapted seed to American farmers and to take advantage of the increased demand resulting from the A. A. A. program, for grass and legume. seed. Now, as Congressman Coffee knows, pressure was brought to bear by certain seed dealers against the A. A. A. requirement that adapted seed of clover and alfalfa be planted on the grounds that the movement of imported seed, particularly Argentine alfalfa seed and European. clover seed, into Nebraska and other States was interfered with. I think Congressman Coffee's interest in a new seed act crystallized when he found that certain seed dealers had sold a large part of a. 3,000,000-pound consignment of adapted alfalfa seed to Russia and wished to refill their supplies with imported alfalfa seed. The alfalfa seed shipped to Russia in early 1937 was mostly from Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska and the sale of this seed at that time advanced the price about 5 cents, costing American farmers over $2,000,000 as well as depriving them of the use of adapted alfalfa seed needed for the national agricultural conservation program. There is reason for protection of the public interest on those major points that are covered in Mr. Coffee's effort to draw a sound bill that will work where our present seed law has been found ineffective and that will serve the agencies of the New Deal program, such as agricultural conservation program, and the soil conservation work of the Soil Conservation Service, and C. C. C. forest service and national park erosion-control work necessitating the planting of grass and legume seed. As never before, we need an effective Federal seed law. There is a greater interest exhibited now in sound seed regulation, throughout the seed trade, because of this great demand for seed, on the part of those engaged in honest, legitimate service in the handling of seeds, than has ever been experienced in this country. Such a program is very vital to our very national life and prosperity. Mr. MITCHELL. Any questions, Mr. Lord? Mr. LORD. I would like to ask one question. Why would it not be feasible to put an embargo on Argentine seeds that come into this country, such seed as we do not want planted here? Mr. Cox. The staining of the seeds red has cut down the imports. Mr. McCALL. Yes. It has been very effective in cutting down the importation of seed from the Argentine. Mr. MCCALL. Yes, the staining of imported seed from unadapted to 10 percent red, has very effectively cut off the importation from those areas. This last year the importation from Argentina was in fact of no importance at all, and the indications are that probably it will not be of any greater importance hereafter. Mr. LORD. But did they not ship from Argentina to France and then to Seattle? Mr. McCALL. Yes, but that can be caught up because of seeds imported from France must be stained a certain color, and under this law it is provided that any seed which comes from a foreign country not stained automatically cannot be entered. Mr. LORD. I am for that. I still believe that in the first place it should not come in, because if it comes in, you can expect some farmers to buy it after it reaches here. Mr. McCALL. Well, for diplomatic reasons, possibly it would be difficult to actually exclude seed. We could do it, of course, but for diplomatic reasons it may raise questions difficult to get around, and I think that has been the background for the staining of seed. They cannot object if we stain the seed to indicate its origin, and when that signal is raised, then the grower has an opportunity at least to know what he is getting, and of course, from the standpoint of operation, if he knows what he is getting, we have gone a long ways toward protecting him. Mr. MITCHELL. I think we understand that situation pretty well. Mr. LORD. I suppose you could give all the farmers color cards so they would know what countries the seed comes from. Mr. MITCHELL. Anything further? Mr. MCCALL. In that connection, Mr. Chairman, Dr. Black raises a question which I think is of some importance. Some of these seed which are not adapted for general use, throughout the country, are adapted for certain limited areas, and as such we will probably find that some of the producers, if they were completely cut off from that source of supply would raise complaints. Inasmuch as the seed can be made available, stained so they will know the origin of the seed, everybody can know what they are getting, that it seems to us that that takes care of the situation pretty well. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Cox, are you familiar with the proposed amendments that are in contemplation by Representative Coffee that are to cover such situations? Mr. Cox. Yes. Mr. MITCHELL. With respect to seed? Mr. Cox. Yes. Mr. MITCHELL. And you likewise recommend those? |