Sharp .Cuts In Farm s„T. Pluses. Continued Tn™^ Gains

Sharp .Cuts In Farm s„T. Pluses. Continued Tn™^ Gains Achieved In 1962;

Sharp reductions In farm | surpluses, largely through the successful feed grain and wheat stabilization programs stand out as a major achievement of 1962, Secretary of Agriculture Orville L. Freeman reported in a year-end summary. Matking a continuation of Secretary Freeman to halt the constant build-up of surpluses, the reduction in 1962 crops is expected to mean a 1 saving in Government costs amounting to at least $550 continuation in 1963 of the ! more than $1 billion increase in farmers’ realized . net income achieved in 1961. 1 “This outstanding achieve^ ment goes far toward fulfilling the Administration’s twin goal of raising farm income and reducing surpluses, gearing our agricultural policies to the new economy of abundance, “Sec-; retary Freeman declared. | About 30 million acres of i corn, grain sorghum, andj barley crop land were diver-1

ted by about 1.3 million pro- | ducers who voluntarily par- i ticipated in the 1962 feed' grain program of USDA's ' Agricultural. Stabilization and Conservation Service. By this means, carryover stocks of these three grains will be cut by’400 to 500 million bushels with an ultimate net savings to the Government of at least $450 million. This is in addition to ultimate savings of almost $600 million which will result from the 1961 program.

Under the 1962 wheat stabilization program, also administered by ASCS, more, than 800,000 producers di-1 verted more than 12 million acres of tyheat cropland to| conservation uses. This di- ] version cut 1962 wheat pro- | duction by 265 million bush els below the 1960 crop and1 by 143 million bushels below the drought-cut 1961 crop. Ultimate savings to the Government as a result of this first year of the wheat stabilization program are expected to amount to about $100 million. These savings, totaling