National Future Farmer

^4^£3vl>> ihe luiiiire Farmers of America

«^-#S*&?N

^{- '-,-9- •' ~ **}

-X >i- _

7

meet the BARTONS

7

of

Caribou, Maine —

a

remarkable

family!

These

six brothers

and

sisters spent a total of

twenty-

four years at the "tl)n-tji /fYi~rIhujuuUC^mi,

and

all

graduated with outstanding

records.

When

the last of his family

had

received

her

degree,

Mr. Barton

wrote:

I

had

a

dream

ofsix children

—

all graduates of

Bob Jones

University....

Even

after I

had

revealed thefactthat

we had

sixchildren

and no money on hand, you shared my dream;

work/loan

scholarships....

No

place

—

^ab-

solutely

no

place else

— could

this

dream have been

realized except at

Bob Jones

University. ... I

simply would

not

expose our youngsters

to the (average) liberal arts collegeor university influence.

Large

families are the

exception

today,

but

it is

not

exceptionalforallthechildrenof

one family

to

be educated

in

Bob Jones

University. Christian parents

have come

to place their

confidence

in

and under God,

it

came

true!...Allsix

had

thisinstitution.

BOB JONES UNIVERSITY

Stands without apology

forthe"old-time religion"

and

theabsolute authority of theBible.

Music, speech, and art without additional costabove regular academic tuition. Institute ofChristian Service,Academy, and seventh andeighth gradesinconnection. Graduate SchoolsofReligionand FineArts.

Firestone

Field & Road

tractor tires

outpull

replacement

tires priced up

to $70 more'

or your

money back!

We

guaranteeit:IfFirestoneField

& Road

TractorTires don'toutpull replacementtires costing$20 .. . $50 . ..

$70. . .more*,we'llrefund every penny.

Here's

what

Field

& Road

Tires offeryou:

•

MORE PULL— New

wide spaced traction bars really takehold.

They

give

you unmatched

pullingpower.

• LESS

WEAR — The

23° angle traction bar design stabilizes tread,

ends

excessive

road wear. New Rubber-XF

Traction Bars wear longer underall condi- tions.Special side-wall rubber resistschecking, cracking.

. FULL

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE-Read

our guar- antee ^(right)

and

thenget Firestone Field

& Road

tires from the tireexpert at your Firestone Dealer or Store.

You know what

you'regetting

when you buy

Firestone.

FIRESTONE FIELD & ROAD GUARANTEE

If,within 60daysofthedateofpurchase,thenewField

&

Road

tire does not outpull any otherreplacement rear tractor tire you've ever bought, your Firestone Dealeror Store will '1) refund within30daysthereaftertheamountpaidor (2) allow the amount paid ⁱⁿ full credit on any other Firestone rear tractortires.(Thistractionguarantee doesnot applyto special- purpose reartractor tiresused inriceandcane farming. The newFirestoneField

&

RoadTractorTireisfurtherguaranteed against defects inworkmanship andmaterialsforthelifeofthe originaltread.This guarantee provides for replacement of the same size and type of tire prorated on tread bar wear and based on Firestonepricescurrent at timeofadjustment.

BillMcKinney, Ashland,Ala., says:"I'm

mighty

pleased with the traction of

my

Field

& Road

Tires."

E. R. Hayes, Rayville, Mo., states:

"No uneven

wear

. . . theylasta lotlonger than othertires."

FredLundgren,Jr., Elgin, Tex., reports:

"They have

real good traction, espe- cially in wetsoil."

YOUR SYMBOL OF QUALITY AND SERVICE

December-January, 1963-64

ADVERTISERS INDEX

Apparel & Hobbies

Winchester WesternDiv.-Olin 8 TheMarlinFirearmsCompany ³¹ H.D.LeeCompany .. 41

ArtInstructionSchools 41

FrankA. Hoppe, Inc 48

TandyLeatherCompany 48

EstesIndustries 49

LacledeMusicCompany 49

AnimalTrap CompanyofAmerica 49 FutureFarmers Supply Service ....49

Farm

Equipment

McCulloch Corporation 6

Allis-Chalmers 12-13

InternationalHarvester

Farm Equipment 29

KeystoneSteel& WireCompany 33

Deere &Company 35

New Idea 39

LincolnElectricCompany 40 NewHollandMachineCompany 52 Feed & Supplies

RalstonPurinaCompany 5

OysterShell Products Company 40 Albers MillingCompany .. .48 General

BobJones University 2

Peanut ProductsCompany 10

ChapStickCompany 49

OfficialFFA Calendar ...SI

Livestock

NationalSuffolkSheepAssn. 46 American BrahmanBreeders Assn. 46 American GuernseyCattleClub 46 American CheviotSheepSociety 46 HampshireSwine Registry 46 American Hereford Assn. 47 BeerySchool of Horsemanship 49 Transportation & Travel

FirestoneTire& RubberCompany 3

Texaco,Inc. . 7

The B. F.Goodrich Company 9 Perfect Circle Corporation II

GoodyearTire&RubberCompany ¹⁴

ClaridgeHotel 49

BirdEngineering 49

ADDRESS ALL CORRESPOND- ENCE

TO: The National

FUTURE FARMER,

Alexandria. Virginia 22306. Offices arelocated in theFu- tureFarmersBuilding on U.S.Route One. eight miles south ofAlexandria, Virginia.

The National

FUTURE FARMER

is publishedbimonthly bytheFuture Farm- ersof America,Inc.,at S10RhodeIsland Avenue. N. E.,Washington. D.C. Second class postage paid at Washington, D. C.

Copyright1963 bytheFutureFarmersof America.

This issue published in separate editions. Additioi separateedition numbered (

asfollows:westernW1-W4.

nati<nal and

Foreign s nglecopie

CHANGE

OF

ADDRESS

:Send bothold nd newaddresses to Circulation Depart- lent, The National

FUTURE

FARMER,

ilexandria. Virginia 22306.

The National

— . Future farmer

^^fj|>^ Owned

^{and Published by the FutureFarmers ofAmerica}

DECEMBER-JANUARY, 1963-64 • Vol. 12, No. 2

EDITORIAL CONTENTS

About

the

FFA

FFA's

New

National Officers National

FFA

Convention ..

StarFarmer ofAmerica ^...

SidelinewithCapons Their

Dream Was

on^{Trees .} Cornfor

Camp

Courage ...

15 Decade After Miracle Day 16-19

.. 20

.. 26

28

FFA

in Action

FFA

FellowshipWinners Mistletoe

Hunt

Reddv's Advisors

.. 34 36-37

.. 40

..

40

.. 47

BuyingaUsed Tractor ...

Do You

UnderstandPrices?

Award-Winning

Shopwork

.

Features

21 WealthinYour Woodlot 24

22 Hereby theOwl 25

23 SteelFarrowingHouse 38

Illustrated Section

BeltsvilleResearchCenter .... 42

A

TrueStory of

FFA

44

Your Yo-Ag Notebook 43 BowlingTips 45

Sports and

Fiction

PantherinthePasture 30 Sportrait 48

Departments

\ourEditorsSay 6

Reader

Roundup

8

Looking Ahead 10

Freefor

You

..

Something

New

Jokes

41 46 50

OUR COVER —

Winterhas

come

atlasttotheColoradofoothills,and no longercanherds of beefcattle

munch

onjuicy sprigsofgrass. Sothis father-sonteambrings the

summer

hayharvestto theirhungry Herefords on ranee onablanket ofnewlyfallensnow. (Photo bv Grant Heilman)

ASSOCIATE EDITORS HowardR. Carter PaulS.Wetter

MAGAZINE STAFF

EDITOR.WilsonW.Came CIRCULATION

ASSISTANTS Norma Salvatore

Rental,Keeter Loitis Adr Sandr

Stag EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Shu

GailButler IsabellaM. Bugbce

BUSINESS

MANAGER,

V.StanleyAll othy Metcalf

PROMOTION

ASSISTANT JimHaiihurst

ADVERTISING

MANAGER

JohnC.Foltz

REGIONAL AD

MANAGERS

Charles R. Oeker LennieGa.ma.ge LenRichardson ADVERTISING ASSISTANT

Rosalind N. Pazzato

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIRMAN,A.W. Tenncy NealD. And

J.G.Bryant H. F. Dais

MEMBERS

eirs Tamotsu Horlt

NATIONAL OFFICERS

PRESIDENT

NetsAekcrson, Indiana

VICE PRESIDENTS JamesTeets,West Virginia EXECUTIVE

SECRETARY

Wm.PaulGray

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS JohnFarrar

JosephCoy Illn

STUDENT SECRETARY

Jon Ford,Oklahoma

The National FL TL

RE FARMER

Barn-door thinking

Good

place to stop

and

think once in awhile

— an open

barndoor. Gives

you

a

new

perspective.

You

can take a

deep

breath, look

up

atthesky,

and

think

about how your

effortsinsidethebarnrelate tothe outside world.

We do

alotofbarn-door thinkingat the

Danforth Farm Youth

Center,

where we

feed

and

^fit lambs, hogs, steers

and

dairy heifers for both production

and show

ring.

As we

testexperimentalrations,

and weigh and

judge thelivestock,

we

keep glancing out the

barn

dooratchangesin

show

ringstandards,

and

at

what

kindof

meat and

milkhousewivesarebuying.

Maybe

that'sanother reason

why

3,614

young

folks visited this

youth

centerlast year,

and why

thou- sands

more

look to

Purina

forleadership

and

help in their projectwork.

LJFCIIM

Ralston Purina

Company,

CheckerboardSquare,St. Louis2,Mo.

December-January. 1963-64

:?ri

w

T''V*

.

:

"»

*

^Jk»"

•«^*ffg

'^Cir|

McCulloch's new

^™ ^^ ^^

hasacompact4.9cu.

in. enginethat delivers fast direct drive cuttingforlimbing, pruning, cut- ting firewood.Itsbalanced design meansitiseasier touseandhandle at anyangle. Fingertipcontrols for

maximumsafety and convenience, automatic rewindstarterandfour- shoesafety clutch. Largeaircleaner andfuelfilteringsystemmeantop performance and added engine life.

Complete with full 17" laminated guide bar and McCulloch'sall-new Super-MacChainfor faster,smoother cutting.See thenewmodel 200at yourMcCullochdealer now.

r*i

If cur CrfitwJ £aif

^{. .}

.

THE

^National

FFA

Convention mustsurelybe oneof themostinspir- ingmeetings ofitskind.

When

nearly 10.000farm boys wearingthe blueandgold jacket of the

FFA

gettogether,things are

bound

tohappen, andthattheydo. Speeches, contests, awards,committeemeetings

—

all

combineto

make

^itan eventful occasion. Itwouldtake abookto fully coverall that happensduring the Convention, but

we

dogive you the highlightsin thisissue.

We

hopeitisenoughto inspire youin the

FFA

year ahead and enough to cause your chapter to seek out those

who

did attendand get apersonal report oftheirexperience.

One

of the hardest working groupsat the National

FFA

Convention

istheCourtesyCorps. These Future Farmers,selectedfrom the various states, and their adult advisors have contributed

much

to a smooth- running convention. As could be expected, they receive a

number

of requests during theConvention toperforma variety of tasksand some- times the unexpected. Here is an example as related to

me

by Carlos Moore, assistant statesupervisorinArizona.

During one of the evening sessions, a Future

Farmer came

to the Courtesy Corpsdeskand askedforhelp.

He

saidhehad gone

down

front totake a picture of theactivitiesonthestage,andasheraised thecamera to getthepicture,hehithiseyeand knockedhiscontactlens tothefloor.

After

much

searching, he could not find it.

Would someone

from the CourtesyCorps go and seeifhecould findit?

Thinking it would be a useless effort, but a request that should be honored,two

Corpsmen

weredispatchedwithbroom. Withso

many

feet trampling thefloor,eveniffoundthelenswouldsurelybeshattered.

The

long shotpaidoil. After

some

careful sweeping, thelens was found and returned to its happy owner,

who

was saved anexpensive replacement.

A

good exampleof theefficiencyof

FFA's

CourtesyCorps.

Itwillsoonbe time for National

FFA

Week.

The

dates for 1964are February 15-22. That isonly about IVi months away, so it is not too earlyto startmakingplans forthisannualobservance.

The

theme chosen for

FFA Week

in 1964 is "Agriculture

—

^dynamic,

challenging."

And

this is astorythatneeds tobe told and^{retold to}the Americanpeople. Livinginaland ofabundance hascaused

many

ofus totake forgranted the blessingsthatareenjoyed by fewother countries.

Even

ourfarm^surplus,whichistoo often referredto asour farm problem,

is a blessing in a world where half thepeople go to bed hungry every night.

Our

onlyassurancethat

we

willcontinue toenjoythis abundance

lies in enough young people from our farms viewing agriculture as a dynamic and challenging occupation. You.as Future Farmers, certainly havetheleadingrole.

National

FFA Week

offersyou and your

FFA

chapter an opportunity topublicly reaffirm yourfaith inthefuture offarming

—

and inagricul- turaleducation,whichisso necessaryin thiseraof

modern

farming.

The name

ofyourorganization. Future Farmers ofAmerica, testifiesto this faith

when

youfullystudyitsmeaning.

The

Futuresaysyoubelievethere will be a future. Farmers

means

youbelieve there will be farmers, and America means youbelievetherewillbean America.

A

great organization withagreatname. Let'stellour neighborsaboutitduring National

FFA Week

in 1964.

U/iLSuOJl (fwuiMu, Editor

TheNational

FUTURE FARMER

•if .ft

^*

* ,£#

Breakdowns can cut down your yield

!

Texaco Marfak cuts down breakdowns.

Afteryou've

planned your

yield,

you know how

importantit istogetitall in.

Every

bushel

means money

toyou.

But

a

machinery breakdown

can

mean

asmaller harvest.

And

thatcan

make

a big difference in your

farm

ledger.

Why

riskit?

Depend on

Marfak.

Rugged

Marfak.

The

superior lubricant

from

Texaco.

Superior

because

itstays

on

thejob.Sticks tobear- ings in

any

kind ofweather. Seals out dust

and

mud. And Marfak

doesn't dry outor

pound

out.

As

abusinessman-farmer,

you know

it's

good

busi- nessto

keep

your

equipment on

the

move.

Y\ ith- out

breakdowns.

Itpaysto lubricatewith Marfak.

Paysto useall theother

dependable petroleum

products

your Texaco man

can provide.

How about

giving

your Texaco man

acall first

chance you

get?

On

^the

farm

^or

on

^the

highway,

^it

makes good

senseto trustthe

man who wears

the^star.

A New

Winchester

22.

Pump

^..

.

Thump!

Here'saWinchester

pump

action22thatbringsallthe benefitsofWinchester'sgreat gun

know-how

intoone smoothslidingsmall

game

rifle.

How

fastisit?

With

a

pump

throwoflessthan 2inchesthis

new

model 270

isasfastasany semi-auto onthemarket.

And

it'sasfast handlingasit isfast firing.

The

balance, thefeel,the weightarejustwhatyouwant ina22huntingrifleor a riflejustfor fun.

When

youwrapyourself aroundthisWinchester you've got 21shorts,17longs or15longriflesreadytogo get 'em.

You

cansee for yourself that this22looksthewaya realrifleshould.

And

since it'saWinchester you

know how

wellit'llwork. Thisnew 22isfivepoundsof finerifle.

Make

friendswithoneat yourlocalWinchesterdealer.

Only$52.95.

WWCff£ST£K

®tfii5B

m

_"oiin

''

%

$ Readfir ^Rounduppf

iw

Minneota, Minnesota

An

unfortunateaccident took thelife of our young'son, Donald.

He was

sec- retary of theBoyd

FFA

Chapteratthe time ofhistragedy.

We

aresending you the clippings ofDon'sdeathandhis pic- ture so you can put the write-up in your Magazine.

We

think that if other young'

men

read about Don's unfortu- nate accident which took his life so suddenly,they

may

takewarning from

it.

Hishigh school seniorclassdedicated theirannualtohim andusedhispicture with their write-up. Brokenhearted parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Snyder Donald Snyder, an outstanding Fu- ture

Farmer

in his community, was killed

when

an automobilehewas work- ingunderfellonhim.

Our

deepestsym- pathyto hisfamily.

—

^Ed.

North Portland, Oregon

It

was

nicetoreceive yourMagazine again, as I enjoyed being a

member

of the

FFA.

I

am

still inthe purebred sheep breeding business along with some

row

crop farming.

My

farm is

known

as BischofFarms.

Ialsospendpart of

my

time assheep superintendent for the Pacific Interna- tional Livestock Exposition. This year

we

willbehosttothe National Suffolk Show. I regard

my FFA

training as quitevaluable and enjoyfarming very much>

Donald Bischof Fishtail,

Montana

Inyour October-Novemberissue you gave instructions for field dressing a deer.

Your

article states to avoid the

musk

glands, found just below the hocks.

We

have always carefully re-

moved

these

musk

glands before open- ing the body cavity.

We

also cut the windpipeandlaythedeerwithitshead downhillsothatitwillbleed out before dressing. This eliminates alotofblood inthe chestcavity. I thinkyou should have mentioned removing the

musk

glands, as theymightruinthe tasteof themeatiflefton thedeer.

Mrs.Jay Robbins

Thank

you, Mrs. Robbins,and you're right. The

musk

glands should be re- moved by carefully cutting under the skinand removingpatches of skinalong with the glands. Avoid cutting into the glands.

Some

experts simply cut the legsoffatthe hocks.

—

Ed.

Durant,

Oklahoma

I

am

aformer

member

andpast pres- ident oftheCobb

FFA

Chapter. Since

my

graduation from high school in 1959, your very fine Magazine has served to keep

me

abreast of the ac- tivities of the

FFA.

I

was

privileged toreturntoCobb HighSchool recently as a student teacher. I shall always be a vigorous supporter of the

FFA

because of what it has done for me.

Glendel Rushing Spring Grove, Minnesota

I have a question about

"How

to Field Dress a Deer" in your October-

November

issue.

Why

shouldyou never usewaterto get blood outof the body cavity?

Thank

you very

much

for an excellent magazine.

Alfred

Hagen

Alfred, most authorities agree the carcass should be cooled and air-dried as quickly as possible. Using water slows this process. Also, water soaks into the flesh and

may

carry undesir- able body fluids with it to spoil and taintthemeat.

—

^Ed.

Loganville, Wisconsin

I enjoy reading the Magazine.It re- minds

me

of

my FFA

days and what the organization has done for me. It sure helped

me

get a startin farming and learn

many

of the qualities that

make

agood individual.

AtpresentI

am

farmingina father- son partnership on a 150-acre dairy farm. Bestwishestoyouforcontinued successwith the Magazine and inyour work with the organization so that it

may

inspireotherfarm youth asithas inspired me.

Donald

Meyer

Lagos, Nigeria

Dear country people, let

me

intro- duce myself.I

am

an Africanboyseek- ingpenpalsaroundtheU.S.A.

My name

is

Hakeem

Fashina, and I live in the capital city of Lagos in the Republic of Nigeria. I

am

18 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and

my

complexion is

brown with blackhair.

My

hobbies are football,swimming,tennis,reading,and writingtopenpals.

I

am

lookingforwardtohearingfrom peopleinthe U.S.A. of^allages.Iwould also appreciate having photographs.

You

canwrite

me

at38OkepopoStreet, Lagos, Nigeria.

Hakeem

Fashina TheNational

FUTURE FARMER

Imagine what farming would

belike today ifthere

were

no trucks.

You might

still

work

the farm. Butyour

life

would

be

much more

^difficult.

How would

yougetyour products to

market?

Today, trucks

do

it.

90%

ofallcattle

and

thebig majorityof grain, dairy products, fruits

and

vegetablestravelbytruck.

How

big

would

your

market

be?

Beforetrucks, a farmer's bestcus-

tomers were

himself

and

thefolks

How

would

it hit you here

if

the trucks stopped

running?

inthe nearest town. But since the

development

of refrigerated tractor trailers,perishables canbe

shipped anywhere

in the country, yet stay fresh as the

day

they leftthe farm.

Trucks have even

helped

develop

a

new

kind of

customer

for you

—

frozen food

processors— who buy

millions of dollars worth of

farm

products every year.

And

trucks also bring you the suppliesyou

need

tobe productive

B.F.Goodrich

—everything from

feed

and seed

to fertilizer

and

machinery.

No doubt about

it.Fast, versatile,

dependable

trucks

make farming more

efficient,

more

profitable.

Your

wallet

would

bealotleanerwithout

them.

Through

the years, B.F.Goodrich has

been

a

major

supplier of tires to the trucking industry.

We, and

the industryitself,are proudofthe

many important contributions

trucks have

made

tofarming.

CKINGINDUSTRY

December-January,1963-64

LEARN THE EXCITING PROFIT STORY OF THE ORIGINAL

Peanut Products Money Earning Plan The

recognized leaderinprofit- able

money

-earning through sale of

vacuum

sealedroaster- freshsaltednutproducts.

For 14 years Peanut Products

Company

hasbeenaprofitpart- nerinthousandsofgroup

money

earningprojects.

Overtheyearsithasbeen proved time and again

—

^{people prefer}

to buy roaster-fresh salted nut products. That's

why

they're easier to sell! That's

why

your profitsare greater!

That's

why

this unique plan

—

time-tested and profit-proved

—

willbe perfectfor your group's next

money-earning

project, whatever yourneeds.

Mail the coupon

now

for com- plete information about the originalPeanut ProductsProfit- Proved

Money

EarningPlan.

PEANUT PRODUCTS

COMPANY

We would liketo knowmoreabout Original Peanut Products Money Ean Plan.Pleasesend completeinformatior

YOUR NAME_

ORGANIZATION.

ADDRESS

I _DEPT_FUTFAR 12-1 ,

Looking Ahead

PUSH-BUTTON FARMING

Agriculture'scrystal ball isforecasting a brightfuture forthe farmer.

Under

development is a self-guided tractor that stays on course from feelersbrushing the crops; a turbine tractorengine burning

LP

gas that needsnogears, throttle, or conventional brakesandclutch; powerequip- ment operatedby remotecontrol radiosignalsenabling afarmerto stay insideand watch his

work

on closed-circuit

TV;

and a

haywagon

that picksup balesand stacksthem neatlyon anadjoining truck at 25miles per hour.

SHIP WHEAT BY PIPELINE

Canadian officials are studying the possibility of shipping wheat in plasticcapsulesthrough standardoilpipelines. Scientists atthe Research CouncilofAlbertafound that plasticcapsulescan

move

^througha pipe- line thesame timethat oil isgoing through. At the destination of the wheat-filled capsules,the^oil could be separated by^{falling into tanks as} thecapsulescontinue onrollers.

The new method

would permit Cana- dian farmers to

move

wheat year 'round and sharply cut storage costs.

MICHIGAN LAUNCHES T-E-L-F-A-R-M

MichiganState Universityisenrolling3,000 farmersinits

new

"Today's Electronic

Farm

Recordsfor

Management"

program. Each

month

farm- ers will return business summaries to the University where figures will be recorded in data processing equipment. In a matter of minutes the 3.000farmrecordswill be

compared

and analyzed.

Then

every quarter each farmerwillreceive acompletetabulation ofhisrecords. University specialists willhelp thefarmers put the datatobestuse.

MEASURE FAT ULTRASONICALLY

Purdue University has a "sonoscope." an instrument that usessound wavestomeasurefatcoverand loineyemuscle inlivestock.

The

device sends sound waves through the animal's tissue, then measures the time neededfor thewavestobounceback.

The

time varies accordingtothe thicknessesof thefat,lean,and bone, and isrecordedand photographed bya Polaroidcamera.

The

instantmeasurementswillhelp breedersselect meatier animals.

NEW FLEXIBLE TRACTOR TIRE

A new

wide, flexible tractor tire

may

be the answer to reducing soil compaction.

New

Mexico researchers believe.

The

tire is46 inches in diameter, 24 incheswide, and fits on a 16-inch rim. In field tests this tiresunkonlytwoinchesinplowed ground,

compared

tooverfiveinches for a conventional tire. Soilcompaction isa problem with truck crops suchastomatoeswhoseyieldsarereduced10to 12percent incompacted

soil.

AUTOMATIC COW SPRAYER

Scientists at the

USDA's

^Kerrville, Texas, station have developed a rubbermat andchutecombinationthat sprayseach

cow

with insecticide automatically.

As

Bossy leaves the milking parlor, she passes through achute filled with nozzles.

A

rubbermat placed even with the ground has a switch under^itthat activatesthe spray. Research showsthat cows werenot afraidto steponthe mat,that itcontrolled allstableand horn

flies, and that it wasstill ingood shapeafter being stepped on 32,000 times by Holstein cows.

ALCOHOL AIDS ANIMAL DIET

Researchispilingup infavor of feeding alcohol inliquidfeed supple- ments to ruminants. Ethyl alcohol has been found to speed the use of ureaintherumen, givingfaster gains,betterfeedconversion, and better utilizationofcheaperfeeds. Feed ServiceCorporationresearchersreport 21.5 percent

more

digestibilitvof protein, 10.5percent

more

digestibility of carbohydrates, and 20.8 percent better utilization ofash

when

ethyl alcoholwas addedinthe livestock feed.

in The National

FUTURE FARMHR

In one respect, it's an ideal piston ring

A rubber band and

a piston

ring have one charac-

teristic in

common

that is

very important.

That

characteristic is

conformability —

^the

key

to

proper compression and

oilcontrolinthe

engine

of

your automobile

or tractor.

Simple enough

to

achieve —

in

rubber. But,

to create

metal

rings

with

this perfection of fit..

.

rings that

will

withstand the explosive impact,

abrasion,

beat and

acids in

an engine —

^requires

very

precise

and

specialized

engineering.

Every year

for several

decades we have invested heavily

in

engineering and

research.

And

the re-

sult is

improved

rings

and new designs

that

give outstanding performance and extra long

life.

That's why virtually every major American manufacturer

of

passenger

cars, trucks, tractors,

and construction equipment

specifies

Perfect

Circle rings as original

factory equipment.

It's

an important reason why your car and pow- ered farm equipment

give

you more go

to the gal- lon,

more power, long

life.

And

a

very important

reason,

when you do

re- ring,for insisting

on

rings

made by Perfect

Circle

—

^{the piston rings the}

engine "pros"

prefer.

THE DOCTOR OFMOTORS

—yourskilled mechanic-is

,

|u

">/the"pro"who lllrK?'' recommends PCringsfor superior performance.

Whenit'stimeto overhaulengines, power-upwith Perfect

i . Circlepistonrings.

St

<?*Sv

PERFECT CIRCLE

Ele Spe

ICastings^•TurbineBlade ntrols Hagersto Plantsand Subsidiaries:HAGERSTOWN. RICHMOND.NEWCASTLE. TIPTON AND RUSHVILLE.INDIANA THE PERFECT CIRCLECOMPANY. LTD.DONMILLS.ONTARIO.CANADA•SCHELLENS TRUE CORPORA- TION.IV0RVT0N.CONNECTICUT.PERFECT CIRCLE INTERNATIONAL.FT.WAYNE, INDIANA.PERFECT CIRCLEHOLLANDNV.THE HAGUE.NETHERLANDS•Factories.Atliliatesand LicenseesinMEXICO, ARGENTINA. AUSTRALIA. BRAZILANDFRANCE

December-January, ¹963-64

jef^Vv

"Boy, you sure do see a lot of these big

orange tractors goin' by around here!'

More and more

big

orange

tractorsare seen

around because more

are

being made

. . .

and bought.

We think

the

reason

for it is that

people think

wellof

Allis-Chalmers

tractors

and what they can

do.

They have what people

generally call

a good

reputation.

Our

dealers

and

their

people have

built

reputa-

tionsintheir

home towns which depend on

giving

farmers

the best tractors

and machinery

to

work

for

them. They

carry stocks of parts to ^fill farmers'

needs

in

a

hurry.

They have

service

people with know-how that can be

reliedon.

Allis-Chalmers people

in

our

factories

and

branches, engineers

and

research scientists, office

"Yea! My brother says his FFA Chapter is going to buy a new tractor. Maybe it'll be one like that!'

people,local

people

...

many, many

of

whom came from farms

. . . all are

pooling

their talents

and

effortsto give

farm people

the best.

You

see . . .

thousands

of

good personal reputa-

tionsall

add up

to

one

big reputation.

Maybe

thisis

why you

seeso

many Allis-Chalmers

tractors these days.

ALUS CHALMERS

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Long Time Friend of Future Farmers

iparison withnewtractor tiresotherthanspecialpurposetires

Only the Goodyear Super-Torque tire has "Angle- Braced" lugs to outpull all others in the field— outwear all others on the road

Super-Torque lugs are like corrugated steel

—

"Angle-

Braced"

togiveyou greater strength...

more

length...

more

pullingsurfaces...

more

pulling

power —

allwithin the

same

spacerequiredforconventionallugs!

And, Super-Torque

lugsarefar

wider

...upto

34%

deeper than standardlugs! Further,they're

made

with

Tufsyn—

toughest synthetic rubberinGoodyear's history

—to

not onlyoutpull,but

outwear

allothers

!

Results: far better traction...lessfuel

consumption

14

.. .longer treadlife...

and

as

much

as 287<lowertire operatingcosts

!

You're already payingfor Super-Torquetractor tires

anyway. Why

not use

them? For

details, see

your Goodyear

Dealeror

Goodyear

ServiceStore

!

GOOD/YEAR

The National

FUTURE FARMER

THE FFA'S NEW NATIONAL OFFICERS

i QnjA.'luSLMjeA. )

Marvin

Leaders

in

academic and

civic

endeavors, these

six

Future Fanners come well qualified

to

be your new national

officers

for 1963-64.

Nels Ackerson,

new

national president, spent his 19 years on a 240-acre dairy andcrops farmnear Westfield. Indiana.

President of the Indiana

FFA

Associa- tion in 1962, Nels enrolled at Purdue Universityand waselected president of thefreshmanclass.

He now owns

one- third interestinthefamily farm,where he has 49 dairy animals. 200 laying hens,and 235acresof crops. Nelsranks high academically, being valedictorian ofhishigh school graduatingclass and achieving 5.76 out of a possible 6.00 lastyear at Purdue.

He

is your 37th national

FFA

president.

Marvin Gibson, aformernational

FFA

public speakingwinnerfrom Maryville, Tennessee, is the

new

vice president from the Southern Region.

Now

20, Marvin

won

the nationalawardin 1961, then

became

vice president of theTen- nessee

FFA

Association.

The

85-acre

home

farmoperatedinpartnershipwith his father grows tobacco, wheat, oats, and hay. Marvin's

FFA

leadershipre- cord includes participation in sixstates and four national conventions.

Now

a student at

Carson-Newman

College in Tennessee. Marvin is a leader in his

community

and church near Maryville.

December-January, 1963-64

Jon Ford, 19-year-old Future

Farmer

from Helena.Oklahoma,isstudentsec- retary for 1963-64. Jon

came

to the National

FFA

ConventionasStar

Farm-

er of the Southern Region this year.

While president of the

Oklahoma FFA

Association, he spoke widely for the

FFA

and hasjustreturned froma tour of 10 European countries.

The new

officer's farming program includes 90 headofbeefcattle and aS40.000 farm ofhisown. Untilhiselection. Jon was astudent at

Oklahoma

State University wherehewas

sophomore

classpresident and a

member

of Alpha

Gamma

Rho.

JosephCoyne, 20.

came

from his Mi- nooka. Illinois, farm to be

named

vice president of the Central Region.

A

past

member

of theNational

FFA

Band, anIllinois

FFA

officer,andapast

mem-

ber of the National

FFA

Resolutions Committee. Joe iswell qualified to be a national officer.

He

rentsa 160-acre farm 50 miles southwest of Chicago, dividingitintocorn,soybeans,oats,and cover crops. Altogether, he and his father farmover 3S0 acres in the Mi- nooka community. Valedictorian ofhis high schoolclass, Joe isajuniorat the University ofIllinois.

JamesTeets,TerraAlta,WestVirginia,

isvice president for theNorth Atlantic Region.

The

19-year-old former presi- dent of theWest Virginia

FFA

Associ- ation comes from a 120-acre general farminthenorthern section of thestate.

Jim hasbeen Star State Farmer, presi- dent of hishigh school class, outstand- ingfarm youthin his county,and vale- dictorian ofhisgraduating class.

Now

a sophomoreat West Virginia Univer-

sity, his farming program back

home

has beef cattle, laying hens, and sheep.

In addition, he and hisfather recently purchasedalivestock auction.

JanTurner, national vice presidentfrom thePacific Region, is 19 years old and hailsfrom Morgan. Utah.

Now

farm- ing in partnership with his father on the

home

farm 50 miles east of Salt Lake City. Jan's 120 acresof irrigated farmlandhas50Jersey dairy cows, po- tatoes, barley, corn, and alfalfa. Until election to national

FFA

office, Jan was a sophomore at Utah State Uni- versity majoring in agricultural educa- tion.

He

hasbeenpresident ofhishigh schoolclass,acivicleaderinthe

Morgan

community, and vice president of the

Utah FFA

Association for 1962-63.

15

Future Farmers

"Why Are We »##

To honor our 35th anniversary, recognize outstanding achievements, confer degrees and awards, promote leadership training, and

trans- act all official

business brought before the group here assembled.

AND

_state

THAT

_they

came

^{they did!}

—

10,034 strong

From

^every

—

to participate in the business oftheirNational Organization. Kansas City, Missouri,from October9-11,took on a

new

look of blueand gold as the largest farm meeting in theworld filled the Municipal Auditorium. Future Farmers

knew whv

theywerehere,and guests from as far

away

as Thailand were on hand to watch.

KansasCity, in the "heart ofAmeri- ca,"had brought out

FFA

banners, ho- tels were ^filled, and the city's citizens were

commenting

on the well-organized group of Future Farmers. Inside the Hotel President, the National Boardof Student Officers had been meeting for daysbeforetheConventionbegan.

They

joinedthousandsofother earlyarrivals on the eve of the Convention in the

annual Vespers Service, conducted by past and present national

FFA

officers.

Tours to places of interest had con- cluded earlier.

A welcome

from Kansas City's

new

mayor, llus Davis, highlightedWednes- day's opening session.

He

shared the program with Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture. Donald McDowell, himself aformerAmerican Farmer.

Future Farmers heard Maine's

Gov-

ernor John Reed, another former Fu- ture Farmer, ^tell

how

the organization has aided

him

through life.

And

that afternoon 385

American

Farmer De- grees were conferred, largest in the organization'shistory. Backin theAu- ditorium's LittleTheater, state exhibits honoring a dynamic and challenging agriculture wereopen to all.

There were awards, business sessions

to determine the FFA's course, and honored guests such as Secretary of Agriculture Freeman. Behind the scenes delegates and state officials met incommitteestonominate

new

national officers, plan next year's Convention, and discuss business and revisions for the

FFA.

Regional public speaking winners,

Dan

Blackwell. Nevada; John Mowrer.

Missouri; JudsonHemphill, Maine; and William

Camp.

Georgia; competed in the national contest on opening night, and John

Mowrer

won.

The

Convention wasn't without due recognition for those

who

had done an outstanding job for the

FFA

program.

Sixty-threechaptersearned the coveted

"Gold

Emblem"

award. 25 advisors received the Honorary American

Farm-

er Degree, there were 10awards toin-

"Welcome

toKansasCity,"

says

new

mayor, Ike Davis.

Pertand pretty

FHA

presi- dent, Diana Leonard, talks.

Maine's Governor

Reed

speaks with fellow FFA'ers.

Mike Mowrer'sspeech,

"A

Great Future,"

won

title.

"Look to thefuture," says

Grange Master Newsom.

"A

selectgroup,"Secretary Freemancalls

FFA

members.

Remarks fromDr.Arnoldof U. S. Office of Education.

"Greetingsfromthe

NFA!"

by President Bob Boone.

TheNational Fl'Tl'RE

FARMER

At this

36th ANNUAL

Convention

of the

FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA

Thisgroupof385 FutureFarmersgathered on

Wednesday

afternoon fo receive the FFA's highest degree, thatof the

American

Farmer.

dividuals for distinguished service, and six national business firms received plaques for becoming 15-year donors tothe

FFA

Foundation.

Future Farmers showed appreciation to 137 donors

who came

tothe annual donor reception and the evening ses- sion.

Then

everyonefocused attention onthe highlightof theConvention pro-

gram —

the

naming

of the 1963 Star

Farmer

of America. Preceded by the colorful state flag ceremony and a movie on each regional winner's farm- ing program, a full house saw

Bob Cummins

accepthiswell-earnedaward.

Few

missed

FFA Day

at theAmeri- canRoyalonFriday. There were

FFA

livestock judging,aspecial horse show,

Sixbusiness firms arehonoredasI5-year donors.

From

left:

Condon MacKay, Hum-

bleOil;Richard Babcock, FarmJournal;CharlesHerbruck,the LincolnFoundation;

HaroldEdlund, ButlerMfg.;Bryon Brown, RepublicSteel;

Don

Fricker, J.I.Case.

Tir

^.

., ,1,1

^t

A

^{record 137 of the 384 donors to the}

FFA

^Foundation

Iwenty-tivevo-aginstructorsaccepttheHonorary

American

^'Pll ,L A •. . . TL ^{, , ,} ,

_ ^' -. _r ,, ,. i

An-

i ii... -,-, filled theAuditorium stage on Thursday eveningtohearJ.

Farmer

Degree

from National Officers. In addition, 22 ... , „ ^. „ ^, *ort, „«« l j l j

, ,. '. .

, i . i

II Ward

^{Keener tell}

members

^{$201,000 had been raised.}

J other

men

closely connectedwith vo-ag were sohonored.

'°'4E3S

m

December-January,1963-64

At

this

36^ ANNUAL Convention

of the

FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA

plus a bigparade tobeledbythe

FFA Band

scheduled for the next morning.

Installation of the

new

nationalofficers andtheFirestoneentertainmentbrought

down

thecurtain that evening. It was aweek,to

remember

forthose

who

were there, and one to look forward to for those lucky enough to

come

back next year.

Distinguished Service Awardsfor HarryGrant, Wirthmore Feeds Walter Moorman, Congress man, Kentucky; J. D. Sykes, Ralston-Purina; R. J. Babcock, Far-n Journal; Earl Schweikhard Oklahoma Fair; E. C. Weekley, Houston Stock Show, Texas; Bruce Davies, KFAB, Nebraska

KennygivesWisconsin

Ag

Secretary D.

N.

McDowell

aplaqueof appreciation.

The FFA'sFarm Proficiencywinners: Dale Prochaska, FarmSafety, Simpson, Kansas; RexTaut-

fest,Livestock Farming, Marland,Oklahoma; Larry Hudkins, Soil Management, Raymond, Ne-

braska;TommyBolin,FarmElectrification, Clarksville,Texas;JamesRider,FarmMechanics, State College, Pennsylvania; CharlesHolmberg, CropFarming,Erick,Oklahoma; Robert Wright, Farm Forestry,Cordele, Georgia;andLeon Zimmerman,Poultry Farming,Fredericksburg,Pennsylvania.

This stringband was oneof

many

talent Itwas a Foundation job well doneforretiring

Chairman

J.

Ward

Keener, left,

groups performingatthe Convention. of B. F. Goodrich, and a

new

challengefor

New

Idea's Curry Stoup, atright.

The

FFA

and our

American

heritage areportrayedby

mem-

bers and staff in

"Patriotism

and the

FFA"

pageant.

ProfessorR. CedricAndersonofIowaleadsthe I18-piece National

FFA

Band, recruited from

members

in 37states.

NATIONAL JUDGING CONTESTS

LIVESTOCK SHOWMANSHIP

Gold Emblems: James Earnest, McArthur Rochester, Indiana;Ronnie Smolo, Kingfisher,

Thomps

, California;

Oklahoma; La

ill Smith, rySutter, Tanner City, Illinois; Stassen Thompson,Tanasco, Kentucky; Kenneth Young, ^Alachua, Florida.

DAIRY JUDGING

First Place: Los Banos, California

Gold Emblems: FivePoints,Alabama; Fruitland,Idaho; Mt.Carroll, Illinois; Berne,Indiana; Boiling Springs, North Carolina;West Salem, Ohio;Ripley,Oklahoma; PleasantGrove, Utah.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

First Place: Ripley, Oklahoma

Gold Emblems: Hanfoi'd, California; Stockbridge, Holden, and Worcester, Massachusetts; South Lyon, Michigan; PineCity, Minne- sota; Duck Hill, Mississippi; Stockton, Missouri.

POULTRY JUDGING

First Place: Chanute, Kansas

Gold Emblems: Hartford, Alabama; Mansfield, Arkansas; Bakers- field, California; St. James, Minnesota; Licking, Missouri; Hooper, Nebraska; Guthrie,Oklahoma; Fredericksburg, Texas; Ogden, Utah.

LIVESTOCK JUDGING

First Place: Jackson, Minnesota

Gold Emblems: McArthur, Califonia; Rochester, India ia; Pretty Prairie, Kansas; Saline, Michican James own North Dakota; Alger, Ohio; Alvc,Oklahoma; Grandvie*,T3xas Mt Solon,Virgi ia^- Chey- enne,

Wyo

MEATS

ming.

JUDGING

First Place: Fredericksbtrg,Teas

Gold Errblems: Gilbert

A

izo la; Springdele, Arksnsas; Fr jitland, Idaho; Lav /rence, Kansas; St. James

M

nne ota; Las Cri , New Mexico; Xenia, Ohio; Philip, South Dakota; Columbus, Wisconsin.

Star DairyFarmers^atWaterloo:Jim Clemens,Missouri;Fred Smith, Virginia; Paul Miller,Conn.; Ray

Woodside, Wash.

Advisor Carter guided his Chanute, Kansas,

team

of Phil Carter, Ken Swiler, Bill McMillan to win poultry judging.

Meats

judging winners: Ken Lindig,ClaytonCrenwelge,Al Usener,

Doug

^Zenner, AdvisorTatum, Fredericksburg, Tex.

Livestockjudgingto

Gary

Hansen, Larry Saathoff,

Ken

and Frank Bezdicek, Advisor Schwiegerof Jackson, Minnesota.

FFA DAY AT THE AMERICAN ROYAL

Larry Higdon, Harrah, Oklahoma, "Reuben," 1,000 pounds of Angus, Oklahoma's Ron Smolo from Kingfish-

grooms champ

Poland China barrow. gave Lynn Leffert, Indiana, top steer. er Chapter with his

champ

fat lamb.

December-January. 1963-64

STAR FARMER OF

AMERICA

The National Convention reached fever pitch

as

Robert Cummins from Warsaw, New York, was named

to

he the FFA's Star Fanner for 1963-6

1.

IT'S

^{Thursdayevening attheNational}

FFA

Convention.

The

four Re- gional Star Farmers have been intro- duced, the movie ontheirfarmingpro- gramshas

come

to aclose, and excite- ment is growing

among more

than 10,000 Future Farmers, advisors, and guests.

Then

comes the announce- ment . . .

"The Star Farmer of America is

Robert

Cummins

from Warsaw,

New

York!"

The

curtainisdrawing toa closeon the selection of the

FFA's

most out- standing American Farmer.

A

totalof 385 applications was narrowed down, and this Future

Farmer came

out on top. He's theson ofarural electrician.

Star Farmer Robert

Cummins,

right,is

flanked by regionals: Stan

Amundson,

CentralRegion;

Dwayne

Disney,Pacific Region; Jon Ford, Southern Region.

you'll recallfromlastissue,thatworked with an elderly neighbor to build his farming program from just one calf.

He's the young farmer

who

will take overfullownershipofa 200-acre dairy farm, 65 dairy animals, and all ma- chinery attheend ofthis year.

How

was Robert

Cummins

selected?

What

brought him to the Star's plat- form onthe stage of theNational Con- vention?

The

storyofhisselection be- gins back in

midsummer when

the

Na-

tional Office staff sends out letters of invitation to leaders in agriculture, business and organizations, and donors to the

FFA

Foundation. These

men

will be the judges of the Star Farmer

when

Convention timerolls around.

Then when

the American Farmer applications arrive, they are carefully studiedbyRegionalProgramSpecialists and a Star

Farmer

committee.

Top

ap- plicants,

recommended

by their states, are selectedandreviewed.

A

statecom- mittee, often with theprogram special- ist, visits the finalists' farms to further study their programs. In

midsummer,

prior to the National Convention, the Program Specialist and Star Farmer

Robert

Cummins

1963 StarFarmerofAmerica

committee select the Regional Star Farmers. These four Regional Star Farmers' applications are scored on

Wednesday

evening ofConventionweek by the judges on anofficialscore card, and each finalist is interviewed before thefinalselectionismade.

No

outsider

knows

thefinalselection untilThursday evening attheceremony.

The

National Treasurer issues four identical $500 checks for the Regional Star Farmers, then onlyat the last minute issues the additional $500 for the Star Farmer.

The

big announcement comes at 10 p.m.. and the

FFA

has a

new

Star FarmerofAmerica.

Thedistinguishedgroup

who

judgedthe 1963

FFA

StarFarmer. Fromleft,seated:

CurryStoup,

New

Idea;Dr.WallaceGordon,E.I.duPontNemours; Bruce Lourie, John Deere;Russell DeYoung,

Goodyear

^Tire and Rubber

Company;

^Dr.A.

W.

Tenney, National

FFA

Advisor; Herschel

Newsom,

National Grange; Roderick Turnbull,KansasCityStar;L.

Emery

Dearborn, FordTractorDivision; R. S.Steven- son,Allis-Chalmers. Standing:

Mark

Keeler, International Harvester;A. C. Swan- son,

Western Auto

Supply; J.

W.

Keener, B. F. Goodrich; Donald McDowell, Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture; and

Homer

Young, Consumers

Co-Op

Assn.

Points to

Ponder

Dentsin sheet metal often indicate that previousown- erwascareless withtractor.

Cracks andsmallcutsinthe tiresidewalls

may mean new

tires will be needed.

WHEN BUYING A USED TRACTOR

Radiator hose leakage can be correctedeasily, but not leaks from core or tanks.

remember

that you buy ^it

I your tractor.

will not give an extensive will usually

make

a limited

Hx Melvin Long

PURCHASE

^{ofausedtractoris often the bestsolution}

torobtaining extra powerat a price you can afford.

However, ifyou want to find a true bargain, you'll need to proceed carefully.

Where

toBuy.'

—

Generally, every farmer selling out has at least one tractor. However,

"'as is." If it falls apart, it'sstil

Although a dealer probably guaranteeon a used tractor, he one.

There are advantages in buying a used tractor from a dealer

who

sells the same

make

new tractor, the dealer

may

doa better job of reconditioning the tractor

make

^he

sells new. and his service people are

more

experienced onthesetractors.

Mechanical Condition

—

Even

when

buying from adealer.

here are

some

details to observe carefully.

What

^is the general reputation in your

community

of the

make

and model tractorthat you're considering? This knowledge

may

prevent you from getting a poorone. While the paint and condition of the sheet metal

may

seem unimportant, they indicate the care given hv the former owner.

Next, look the tires over carefully.

You

will expect the tread to be worn some, but what about the condition of the casings'.' If they are in good condition, they can be recapped at considerably less cost than new tires.

Inspect the radiator for leaks. Also, look for signs of previous repairsonthecore,such as

damage

caused bythe fan bladesstriking the radiator.

Next, trythestarterwith the ignitionswitch "oil." Does thestarter spin the engine readily? If not. it

may mean

a draggingarmaturein thestarteror alow battery that needs charging.

You

can check this by using a pair of jumper cables to "borrow" power from another battery.

Then

listen to thes"ound as the starter turns.

A

steady, even sound indicates that the engine valves are probably ingoodshape.

Useofacompressiongaugeis thebest means forcheck- ing cylinder condition. Simply hold the opening of the gauge against each spark plug opening in succession and cranktheengine overa few times with thestarter foreach :ylinder reading. Exact values vary

among

tractors, but thereadingshould beapproximately 100pounds persquare inch. All cylinders should have approximately the

same

compression pressure.

December-January, 1963-64

Wheel

bearings arechecked by shaking wheels. Extra play

means

worn steering.

Gummy,

oily

deposit

on plugs

means

oil leaks past rings. You'llneed

new

rings.

While you have the spark plugs removed, inspect them carefully. Ifyou canverify thattheengine has good com- pressionand thatthe bearings are notwornexcessively,you can usually tune up the ignition and fuel system without maior expense.

A

few dollars for new spark plugs and distributor points, phis cleaning the air cleaner and adjust- ing the carburetor, will usually increase performance.

The

steering system can he checked by observing

how much

effort is required to turn the wheel with the tractor moving.

The

front wheelbearings canbe checked byjack- ing upthe frontend of thetractor and attempting toshake the front wheels.

Hydraulic System

—

Most late model tractors have a hy- draulic and hitch system. If you already have mounted- type implements, you will want to check the tractor to seethat your tools will lit.

A

high-pitched "whine"

may

indicate a worn hvdraulic pump. Also checkto see if thesystem will lift your heav-

iest implement. Is the

pump

live (independent of forward motion clutch)'.' Are remote cylinder outlets available for use with pull-type implements'.'

Field lest

—

^Finally, the best tractor check can by

made

right on your

own

farm. If you purchase from a dealer, he should be willing foryou to try the tractor first.

Hook

up to a plow, disk harrow, forage harvester, or a baler, and determine

how

it performs under actual operation.

You

mustrealize thatbuyingaused tractor involves

more

riskthan purchasing a new one. That's one ofthe reasons the price is less. But bycareful shopping,you can keep the

risk as small as possible.

«««

21

Do You Understand

PRICES?

Here

is

the story behind the price gap between the American farmer and the consumer he serves.

By Don Paarlberg

A FARMER

^{in the}supermarket and^walks

down

sees^the food^aisle on display. "Eggs, 52 cents a dozen." reads the sign.

He

sold eggs last week, possibly thesesameeggs,for 34cents.

He

got only 66centsof the dollar theconsumerspent for eggs.

"Milk, 25 cents a quart," reads an- other sign.

The

farmer sold

Grade A

fluid milk.

A

little arithmetic shows thathegot about II cents a quartlast

month, or only 42 cents of the dollar the consumer spent for milk.

"Beef, 82 cents a pound," reads the signatthemeatcounter.

The

farmer's share is a little harder to figure here with the loss in dressing, the value of by-products, and the variation in value from oneretailbeef cuttoanother. But

if the farmer figures it accurately, he would learn that he got about 64 per- cent of the dollar the consumer spent for beef.

Altogether, if

we

consider the total listofcropsandlivestock products sold offfarms,farmers inmid-1963received 36percent of the consumer'sfood dol- lar. This looks smalltothefarmer.

He

producedthe foodbut got only a little

more

than one-third ofwhatitcost the consumer.

22

Who

got the other two-thirds?

The

people

who

performedthevariousmar- ketingservices,obviously. Thesewould bethepeople

who

assembledthe crops and livestock, provided the transporta- tion, processed the products, stored

them

iftheywereseasonal,ran therisk of pricechange, did the necessary grad- ing and packaging, and retailed them, finally, tothe consumer.

The

majoroutlay in all thisis labor, which constitutes 45 percent of the marketing bill. Truck and rail trans- portation take 10 percent. Middlemen's profits, beforeincometaxes,take 5 per- cent: after income taxes, 2 percent.

Other expenses such as fuel, power, containers, and interesttakeup 40per- cent.

It can readily be computed from these

USDA

^{facts that if} middlemen's profits (after taxes) were eliminated entirelyandtotallycapturedbyfarmers, farmpriceswould go uponly 5percent.

But of course this can't happen. If middlemen'sprofitswere eliminated en- tirely, then wholesaling and retailing services wouldnotbe supplied; firms in the food trade won't continue in busi- ness forzero return.

The

merchandis- ing of food must return a profit if

farmers are to have a market and if

consumersaretohaveafoodsupply.

The

farmer'sshare of theconsumer's fooddollarhasbeen^declining. In 1953

itwas 44percent. In 1963^itis36per- cent. This drop is largely a result of added services

demanded

by the con- sumer and supplied by the food mar- keting agencies. Out-of-season frozen strawberriescost

more

than fresh straw- berries

grown

locally. Ready-to-serve chicken costs

more

than the bird pluckedand drawn.

The

increaseinthe share of the consumer's food dollar taken by the

middleman

is primarily due to the added services which the consumer

demands

and pays for. It is alsoareflectionofhigherwagerates.

We

have been thinking about

how

costs and returns are shared in mar- keting. But a bigger and

more

basic question is

"What makes

price?"

Economic

lesson No. 1 concerns the laws ofdemand,supply,and^price.

The

law of

demand

is this: Other things equal,the quantity purchasedwill vary inversely with the price. Thus, ifprice

is raised and other things remain the same, a smaller quantity will be pur- chased.

The

law of supply is this: Other things equal, the quantity offered will vary directly with the price. Thus, if

price is boosted and other things re- mainthesame, alargerquantitywillbe offered forsale.

When

supplyand

demand

interact in acompetitive market, the pricebecomes established soas to

make

thetwoequal.

Supplyequals

demand

andthe market clears. Thereis no "surplus." Thereis

no"shortage."

The

price

may

be rela- tivelyhigh or low, depending upon the levels of

demand

and supply.

If the price is low, the market is telling farmers to produce less and tellingconsumers to buy more. If the priceishigh,theoppositesignalisbeing given. This

mechanism

isaremarkably orderly process, and functions effec- tivelyfor themostpart,despite thefact that few peopleunderstand it.

No

oneiscompletelyhappywiththis system.

The

farmers wish the price werehigher.

The

standard definitionof a fairprice,as thefarmer defines it, is

"10 percent more." Conversely, the consumer's definition of a fair price is

"10 percent less."

The

subject ofprices iscontroversial and always will be because producers and consumers contend with one an- other. If the market is competitive, they contend in the market place. If the price is legislated, they contend in the halls ofCongress.

Make

sureyour contention is focused on meaningful issuesratherthanonsuspicionandmis- understanding.

TheNational

FUTURE FARMER

Danny Campbell

and his Advisor Steve Douglass admire the cattle chute builtfrom scrapsat atotal costof$1 19.

Three-point hitch scraperand dozer ofscrap steel builtby Jack Gideon,

Dave

Ramey, Harry White, Winchester, Va.

LOOKING

^{forsomethingto buildin}

farm shop?

On

thispageare

some

ideas you

may

want toconsider.

They

were built by vo-ag students like your-

self, and each earned an award from

the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation.

The

top award went to

Danny

Campbell, a Future

Farmer

from WestPlains,Missouri,

who

builta cattle squeeze chute. Danny's chute, along with four other topshop^projects,

is

shown

hereas ideas for otherFuture Farmers tofollow. With abitoforigi- nal planning, and use of your vo-ag- learnedskills, you canbuild

many

use- ful items in shop for use around the

home

farm.

Plywood and angle braces comprise this self-unloading feed auger

wagon

of

Dave Hammer,

Pocahontas, Iowa.

Old autowheelsandpipehelped

make

a portable loading chuteforDruRich- ard,

FFA member

fromEllsworth, Kans.

Pipe andangle iron were usedfor this rack to fitover cattle scales on ranch ofMike Manning, Idaho

FFA member.

Wealth

In You

Woo f

By

Murray

Prinjjle

S

THERE

awoodlot on your farm?

Takeanother lookatit.

You may

discover, asothers have, that the stand oftimber contains a marketable crop that you never realized existed.

For example:

Lastfall a farmerbegan to chopup the butt log of awalnut tree

when

his sonpersuaded himto stop.

The

young

man

contacted a veneer

company

and invited

them

to inspectit. Result?

The

"worthless"treesold for$200!

OutintheNorthwestanotherfarmer takeshisrifleandgoesonperiodichunt- ingtripsintothe

woods

onhisproperty.

His"bag"consistsofconks, the quinine fungus growth on larch trees which is

loaded with agaric acid.

The

acid is

usedinthe bestwinesand

some

patent medicines.

Conks

contain noquinine drug.

The name

was inspired by its bitter taste.

Conks

growoutfromthesidesof larch trees ashigh upas 100 feet,which ex- plainstheneedfora rifle.

The

farmer simplyshootsthemloose.

He

hasbeen fatteninghisbankaccount this

way

for yearsandhas seen themarketprice for Northwestern conks climb from $.25 a

pound

to ashighas