AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 19541

AN ACT

To provide for greater stability in agriculture; to augment the marketing and disposal of agricultural products; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I-SET ASIDE OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

SEC. 101. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall, as rapidly as the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine to be practicable, set aside within its inventories not more than the following maximum quantities and not less than the following minimum quantities of agricultural commodities or products thereof heretofore or hereafter acquired by it from 1954 and prior years' crops and production in connection with its price support operations:

Such quantities shall be known as the "commodity set-aside". (7 U. S. C. 1741)

SEC. 102. Quantities of commodities shall not be included in the commodity set-aside which have an aggregate value in excess of $2,500,000,000. The value of the commodities placed in the commodity set-aside, for the purpose of this section, shall be the Corporation's investment in such commodities as of the date they are included in the commodity set-aside, as determined by the Secretary. (7 U. S. C. 1742)

SEC. 103. (a) Such commodity set-aside shall be reduced by disposals made in accordance with the directions of the President as follows:

(1) Donation, sale, or other disposition for disaster or other relief purposes outside the United States pursuant to and subject to the limitations of title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954;

(2) Sale or barter (including barter for strategic materials) to develop new or expanded markets for American agricultural commodities, including but not limited to disposition pursuant to and subject to the limitations of title I of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954;

(3) Donation to school-lunch programs;

1 Approved August 28, 1954, 68 Stat. 897.

(4) Transfer to the national stockpile established pursuant to the Act of June 7, 1939, as amended (50 U. S. C. 98-98h), without reimbursement from funds appropriated for the purposes of that Act; (5) Donation, sale, or other disposition for research, experimental, or educational purposes;

(6) Donation, sale, or other disposition for disaster relief purposes in the United States or to meet any national emergency declared by the President; and

(7) Sale for unrestricted use to meet a need for increased supplies at not less than 105 per centum of the parity price in the case of agricultural commodities and a price reflecting 105 per centum of the parity price of the agricultural commodity in the case of products of agricultural commodities.

The President shall prescribe such terms and conditions for the disposal of commodities in the commodity set-aside as he determines will provide adequate safeguards against interference with normal marketings of the supplies of such commodities outside the commodity set-aside. Strategic materials acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be transferred to the national stockpile established pursuant to the Act of June 7, 1939, as amended, and the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be reimbursed for the value of the commodities bartered for such strategic materials from funds appropriated pursuant to section 8 of such Act of June 7, 1939, as amended. For the purpose of such reimbursement, the value of any commodity so bartered shall be the lower of the domestic market price or the Commodity Credit Corporation's investment therein as of the date of such barter, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. (7 U. S. C. 1743 (a))

(b) The quantity of any commodity in the commodity set-aside shall be reduced to the extent that the Commodity Credit Corporation inventory of such commodity is reduced, by natural or other cause beyond the control of the Corporation, below the quantity then charged to the commodity set-aside. (7 U. S. C. 1743 (b))

SEC. 104. (a) The Corporation shall have authority to sell, without regard to section 103 (a) (7) hereof, any commodity covered by the commodity set-aside for the purpose of rotating stocks or consolidating inventories, any such sale to be offset by purchase of the same commodity in a substantially equivalent quantity or of a substantially equivalent value. (7 U. S. C. 1744 (a))

(b) Dispositions pursuant to this title shall not be subject to the pricing limitations of section 407 of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended. (7 U. S. C. 1744 (b))

SEC. 105. The quantity of any commodity in the commodity setaside or transferred from the set-aside to the national stockpile established pursuant to the Act of June 7, 1939, as amended (50 U. S. C. 98-98h) shall be excluded from the computation of "carryover" for the purpose of determining the price support level for such commodity under the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, and related legislation, but shall be included in the computation of total supplies for purposes of acreage allotments and marketing quotas under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, and related legislation. Until such time as the commodity set-aside has been completed, such quantity of the commodity as the Secretary shall deter

mine between the maximum and minimum quantities specified in section 101 of this Act shall be excluded from the computations of "carryover" for the purpose of determining the price support level, but shall be included in the computation of total supplies for purposes of acreage allotments and marketing quotas, for the 1955 crop of the commodity, notwithstanding that the quantity so excluded may not have been acquired by the Corporation and included in the commodity set-aside. (7 U. Š. C. 1745)

SEC. 106. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall keep such records and accounts as may be necessary to show, for each commodity set-aside, the initial and current composition, value (in accordance with section 102), current investment, quantity disposed of, method of disposition, and amounts received on disposition. (7 U. S. C. 1746)

SEC. 107. In order to make payment to the Commodity Credit Corporation for any commodities transferred to the national stockpile pursuant to section 103 (a) (4) of this Act, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated amounts equal to the value of any commodities so transferred. The value of any commodity so transferred, for the purpose of this section, shall be the lower of the domestic market price or the Commodity Credit Corporation's investment therein as of the date of transfer to the stockpile, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. (7 U. S. C. 1747)

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 1949, AS AMENDED, AND RELATED LEGISLATION

[This title contains amendments to the Agricultural Act of 1949, which are incorporated in that Act as contained in this compilation, and amendments to related legislation.]

TITLE III-AMENDMENTS TO AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 1938, AND RELATED LEGISLATION

[This title contains amendments to the Agricultural Act of 1949 and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which are incorporated in those Acts contained in this compilation, and amendments to related legislation.]

TITLE IV-AMENDMENTS TO AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AGREEMENT ACT OF 1937

[This title contains amendments to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, which are incorporated in that Act as contained in this compilation.]

TITLE V-AMENDMENTS TO SOIL CONSERVATION AND DOMESTIC ALLOTMENT ACT

[This title contains amendments to the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, which are incorporated in that Act as contained in this compilation.]

TITLE VI-AGRICULTURAL ATTACHES

SEC. 601. For the purpose of encouraging and promoting the marketing of agricultural products of the United States and assisting American farmers, processors, distributors, and exporters to adjust their operations and practices to meet world conditions, the Secretary of Agriculture shall acquire information regarding the competition and demand for United States agricultural products, the marketing and distribution of said products in foreign countries and shall be responsible for the interpretation and dissemination of such information in the United States and shall make investigations abroad regarding the factors affecting and influencing the export of United States agricultural products, and shall conduct abroad any other activities including the demonstration of standards of quality for American agricultural products for which the Department of Agriculture now has or in the future may have such standards, as he deems necessary. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting the Department of Agriculture from conducting abroad any activity for which authority now exists. (7 U. S. C. 1761)

SECS. 602 to 608. [These sections provide for the appointment of agricultural attaches.]

TITLE VII-NATIONAL WOOL ACT OF 1954

SEC. 701. This title may be cited as the "National Wool Act of 1954."

SEC. 702. It is hereby recognized that wool is an essential and strategic commodity which is not produced in quantities and grades in the United States to meet the domestic needs and that the desired domestic production of wool is impaired by the depressing effects of wide fluctuations in the price of wool in the world markets. It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress, as a measure of national security and in promotion of the general economic welfare, to encourage the annual domestic production of approximately three hundred million pounds of shorn wool, grease basis, at prices fair to both producers and consumers in a manner which will have the least adverse effects upon foreign trade. (7 U. S. C. 1781)

SEC. 703. The Secretary of Agriculture shall, through the Commodity Credit Corporation, support the prices of wool and mohair, respectively, to the producers thereof by means of loans, purchases, payments, or other operations. Such price support shall be limited to wool and mohair marketed during the period beginning April 1, 1955, and ending March 31, 1962.2 The support price for shorn wool shall be at such incentive level as the Secretary, after consultation with producer representatives, and after taking into consideration prices paid and other cost conditions affecting sheep production, determines to be necessary in order to encourage an annual production consistent with the declared policy of this title: Provided, That the support price for shorn wool shall not exceed 110 per centum of the parity price therefor. If the support price so determined does not exceed 90 per centum of the parity price for shorn wool, the support

2 "1962” substituted for "1958" by sec. 401 of the Agricultural Act of 1958.

price for shorn wool shall be at such level, not in excess of 90 per centum nor less than 60 per centum of the parity price therefor, as the Secretary determines necessary in order to encourage an annual production of approximately three hundred and sixty million pounds of shorn wool. The support prices for pulled wool and for mohair shall be established at such levels, in relationship to the support price for shorn wool, as the Secretary determines will maintain normal marketing practices for pulled wool, and as the Secretary shall determine is necessary to maintain approximately the same percentage of parity for mohair as for shorn wool. The deviation of mohair support prices shall not be calculated so as to cause it to rise or fall more than 15 per centum above or below the comparable percentage of parity at which shorn wool is supported. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no price support shall be made available, other than through payments, at a level in excess of 90 per centum of the parity price for the commodity. The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, announce the support price levels for wool and mohair sufficiently in advance of each marketing year as will permit producers to plan their production for such marketing year. (7 U. S. C. 1782)

SEC. 704. If payments are utilized as a means of price support, the payments shall be such as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be sufficient, when added to the national average price received by producers, to give producers a national average return for the commodity equal to the support price level therefor: Provided, That the total of all such payments made under this Act shall not at any time exceed an amount equal to 70 per centum of the accumulated totals, as of the same date, of the gross receipts from duties3 collected on and after January 1, 1953, on all articles subject to duty under schedule 11 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The payments shall be made upon wool and mohair marketed by the producers thereof, but any wool or mohair produced prior to January 1, 1955, shall not be the subject of payments. The payments shall be at such rates for the marketing year or periods thereof as the Secretary determines will give producers the support price level as herein provided. Payments to any producer need not be made if the Secretary determines that the amount of the payment to the producer or all producers is too small to justify the cost of making such payments. The Secretary may make the payment to producers through the marketing agency to or through whom the producer marketed his wool or mohair: Provided, That such marketing agency agrees to receive and promptly distribute the payments on behalf of such producers. In case any person who is entitled to any such payment dies, becomes incompetent, or disappears before receiving such payment, or is succeeded by another who renders or completes the required performance, the payment shall, without regard to any other provisions of law, be made as the Secretary may determine to be fair and reasonable in all the circumstances and provided by regulation. (7 U. S. C. 1783)

SEC. 705. For the purpose of reimbursing the Commodity Credit Corporation for any expenditures made by it in connection with payments to producers under this title, there is hereby appropriated for each fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30,