Master Berglands Q and A a

but there are some things we intend to do I have now changed the economic analyses group and our Department of Agriculture so that when that food price increase is posted we're going to have a press conference in the Department of Agriculture and talk to consumers in Chicago and Los Angeles and keep you out of Missouri and every other place to explain what has taken place what's happened that the farmer is not to blame that this food cost increase is coming because we are apparently demanding that convenience and maybe we can get consumers to start cutting their food bill by doing more of this at home and this is going to help all of us you don't know and I know that your production costs have doubled in the last eight years that's a fact we call that inflation i farm twenty eight years and I know and you know that we who farm buy and retail and sell at wholesale and pay the freight both ways there isn't a thing you can do about some of those production costs there isn't a thing you can do about some of those production costs if you are left alone and are called upon to struggle up with it by yourself and you know and I know and we're telling the consumers of these United States that we who farm have no way that we can add the cost of inflation on to the price of food at the retail level or even at the wholesale level we do the best we can by increasing target prices to reflect changes in cost of production and that's matter we could go into later but as a matter of fact I have said and I say tonight but the farmers of the united states have more to gain by the president's efforts to control inflation and perhaps any economic group in the united states if we can get this thing under control if we can stop this inflation that's tearing us apart it means money in our pockets yours and mine if we can reduce the production cost one percent that means a four percent increase in your net profit and that's what the business is all about it's net profit it's not gross and so and so we have to think in terms of net profit and in that context it is absolutely imperative that inflation be brought under control the president has a plan it requires voluntary compliance by you and me and every consumer and every citizen of the United States if we all make a modest contribution to that national plan the program will work and you and I as consumers and we are agriculture farmers in the United States consume a hundred billion dollars worth of goods and services produced in the city and if you and if this plan can be made to work and I'm convinced it can you and I as consumers will enjoy a measure of prosperity that we have not seen in the last decade and so I'm discussing with the president's inflation fighters ways and means in which inflation can be slowly but surely brought under control then there is no single quick fix no magic answer it's something that will take time and it will hurt us some individually in little dinky bits and pieces and ways that are kind of irritating but it will solve a much bigger problem that if it isn't brought under control would tear this country apart next question what is being done to stop foreign purchase of our farmland fact of the matter is that no one really knows for sure how many foreign owners there are in the United States recently the Congress passed a bill with an amendment authored by or at least we credit to Senator Eagleton it's now law we're in the process of implementing this new provision about the middle part of January ASCs County committees will be going to only court houses and we'll be sending notices in the newspapers in your County requiring that foreign owners or the operators of land which are foreign owned registered that fact and send it in to me so that we can make it public or will not disclose individual names or addresses of course but we need to know precisely what's taking place we'll make a report to the Congress and to the President and to the country and then kind of decide from there what if anything should be done the second study which we have underway is an examination of our tax laws we're looking to see whether or not a foreign buyer has a tax advantage over you and me or any American purchaser if we find that indeed a foreign investor has a tax advantage then we are going to recommend a change in the American tax law so that no one has a competitive advantage in buying land in the United States we're running out of time they said your age are about like mine are they know you're gonna keep talking so they said you've got to quit because you've got to be here in the car in a few minutes from our mo X call in program they won't wait on I'm going to just go through this quickly then and keep short answers what's the future the dairy industry good they like that for short answer prices are price is now $0.50 service support rate and the prospects are promising for the lace through the next 12 months beyond that's risky to forecast what or will the MTN Agreement allow more dairy imports the answer is no I will the situation effect cow cow crisis I'm not sure I can answer that I think I think well I know they said behind every average cow is a better heifer and and those average those average cows are going to satisfy this hamburger demand now what happens in the next two or three years bears watching in view of the recently announced big grant program 479 what do you expect the participation level to be we think about the same as this year six eight million acres out what would you suggest in the way of marketing strategy well you've got it an NF Oh what was the average price per bushel of wheat sold of the Russians in 1974 I don't remember in 74 but in 1972 it was a dollar sixty-two cents a bushel delivered Gulf of Mexico what prices do we currently get in our trade with that country and does the government sell the grain the answer is the government does not sell the grain prices are Chicago Kansas City plus Freight as a result of your travels in China what are your best projections for increasing export sales to that country is China eligible for CCC credit the answer to the last is yes they are eligible they did not ask for credit however they can get better interest elsewhere the the their credit worthy they don't owe anybody any money they were going to be buying six to ten million or ten million tons of grain in each of the next two or three years we'll get our share maybe more we'd like to have all imported products coming into the u.s. subject to the same quality and safety standards as our own what is your position on this situation I agree completely I'm told that the time has run out thank you very much now if you were