Excerpt from Surplus: The Riddle of American Agriculture On any public issue, the economist’s viewpoint is, of course, only one of many. On the issue of the food surplus, his viewpoint is urgently sought. Even among agricultural economists, however, views on the problem differ, and these several views are almost useless unless the layman knows them.

The layman needs supporting reasons for the views he seeks to consider. Our role is to interpret. We have tried to arrange the interpretation to help the reader focus more sharply on the many facets of the food surplus problem.

You may not be an economist, but you may have your own ideas on how the farm program should be handled. We seek to help you spell out these ideas and to look at other ideas held no less firmly by other people.

American farmers have worked themselves out of their markets. They have taken advantage of new technologiesand buoyant food prices. The result is more wheat, corn, cotton and other farm goods than they can sell and give away. The balance of grain and. Cotton, in particular, is bought and stored by the Federal Government. Helped by tax revenue, the Government has been guaranteeing prices of cotton, wheat and other so-called basic commodities.

You might say: Fine. The farmer has to contend with the weather. And he typically lacks monopoly powers over prices. Why shouldn’t he be able to expect fair prices for his products?

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