Spuds to Spare

Far from shivering miserably under the icy flow of protest from dairy farm groups. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson last week proved himself a man who finds a cold shower invigorating. Having just cut supports on dairy products from 90% to 75% of parity, Benson briskly followed up by refusing to purchase surplus potatoes.

The U.S. Congress, amid cries of crisis and warnings of impending catastrophe, only a few weeks ago rushed through authorization for Benson to buy potatoes and channel them to Government-supported outlets such as the school lunch program. While potato consumption in the U.S. has fallen off slightly, production has gone up, from 349 million bu. in 1952 to 374 million last year. Benson thought that to resume Government buying of potatoes would only compound the problem by raising the incentive for big plantings, thereby increasing the surplus.

In a statement to potato growers, Benson said: "The current potato surplus and low prices are a direct result of over-plantings, despite acreage guides and additional warnings by the Secretary."

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