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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1957)
PAGE TWO HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6. 1957 Cattlemen Propose Oregon Local Hearing Date Set For October 21 Historically western cattlemen hove been steadfastly independent and individualistic. These virtues were necessary in the days when Ihe very nature of their work meant they had to be completely self reliant. Today's beef produc er, in competition for his share of the consumer's food dollar, is faced with the question of whether or not he can remain Ihe com pletely self reliant individual his grandfather was. Perhaps he will have to join an industry-wide amalgamation of producers de signed to conduct research into improving his product, strengthen ing his marketing position, pro moting beef consumption and pro tecting his interests on levels over which he as an individual has no control. These are the functions of a commodity commission and it has been proposed that beef producers in Oregon establish such a com mission. Other states have set up beef commissions and more of them arc in the process. Other commodities in Oregon have es tablished similar producer groups. A group of Oregon cowmen have petitioned the Slate Department of Agriculture and set in motion the processes involved in establishing a beef commission here. Seventeen public hearings are tentatively scheduled to be held throughout Oregon during the last three weeks of October to acquaint cattlemen with the recently pro posed plan for the establishment of a stale beef commission. These hearings, which are required ty law. will be open to the public and will feature discussions of the desirability and need for such a commission. All interested par til's are urged to attend. The cattlemen will be given the opportunity to present arguments for or against the proposal and to exchange ideas. After the hear ings the director of agriculture will be presented with transcripts of Ihe evidence presented to them for his study. If he decides that such a self-help program is justi fied on the basis nt the testimony he will set the date for a vote by the producers of the commodity; in this case, beef. Beef producers will be required to register before they will be eligible to vote. If two-thirds of the producers who vote favor the idea of a commission, and if those voters represent more than one third of the beef produced in the state, then the governor will appoint the commission. The com missioners receive no salary, but DALLY GIVAN thinks that the idea of an Oregon $eef Commission should be sup ported by all of us. "We've got something to sell and if we don't push our product ourselves," he said, "no body else is going to." He said that he would be glad to see some market re search done on the local level. they are paid for their travel ex penses and may receive a per diem for the time they spend in commission work. In vitfw of the fact that the beef industry is an important factor in the economy of the Klamath Ba sin we submit this analysis of com modity commissions in general and the proposed beef commission in particular. There ore already several suc cessful commissions in operation in Oregon. These producer groups strive to improve market condi tions for their particular products in a variety of ways. They are financed by taxes assessed against the sales of the commodity in volved and these funds are de posited with the state treasurer subject to the same budgeting and auditing practices as other agencies created under slate au thority. They are rigidly controlled by the legislation which allowed their formation and by their own individual petitions which stipulate their fields of authority. CATTLEMEN The cattlemen who petitioned for the formation of a beef com mission have said that it will serve a much needed purpose in fostering research, marketing studies and promotional, cam paigns. They believe that the 10 cents per head wmcn wilt dc levied on all cattle going to slaugh ter or leaving the state will even tually prove to be a profitable in vestment. Proponents of the plan cite the fact that if the efforts of the commission can prevent the price of beef from falling one cent a pound during a period of high production the return to the pro ducer on a 1.000 pound animal will be $10 for 10 cents. Opponents of the commission plan seem, for the most part, not to question the fact that re search and advertising would help the beef industry, but they do not believe that the desired results can be achieved on the state level. A national organization would prob ably win the support of these cat tlemen and those who favor the Oregon commission maintain that a nationwide plan will be the in evitable outgrowth of the forma tion of sufticicnt state commis sions. Others oppose the Oregon Beef Commission plan on the basis of suspicions that because the seven members of the commission are to be appointed by the governor the posts will become political re wards. The petition, backers of the plan point out, clearly sets ED WILLIAMS combined the experiences of a dairy man and cattleman when he expressed the idea that an organization behind the beef business would accom plish a great deal. "The dairy commission has done a lot oaaod." he said, "and the batf producers should reajlvjet behind this idea." Laws Govern Commissions The most recent edition of the Oregon State Department of Ag riculture Bulletin says that a com mission, unless its powers are otherwise limited by the original petition, may: 1. Conduct scientific research. 2. Give reliable information show ing the value of a commodity and its products. 3. Study legislation, both state and federal, which has bearing on tariffs, duties, reciprocal trade agreements, import quotas and similar matters. 4. Protect the interests of the commodity with respect to legisla tion or proposed legislation or ex ecutive action. 5. Sue and be sued as a coin mission, without individual liabil ity. 6. Enter into contracts. 7. Borrow money, with limita tions. 8. Make giants to research agencies to finance special or emergency studies. 9. Appoint officers and name their duties. 10. Cooperate with other agencies to benefit the commodity. 11. Take action to collect the crop assessed. 12. Adopt, withdraw, modify or amend any of its regulations, or ders or resolutions. 13. Enter into contracts to ad vertise the commodity or develop new markets. 14. Establish a reasonable per diem, including travel lime, to commission members. 15. Accept grants, donations or gifts to carry out its program. 16. Assess a tax within limita tions of the general law or as fur ther limited by the original petition. down the requirements each mem ber of the commission must meet. HEARINGS In the hearings producers will be given the opportunity to ex press their opinions regarding whether or not a beef commission is desirable and necessary before representatives of the State De partment of Agriculture. The hearings will not determine wheth er such a commission will be es tablished; that will be decided in the referendum which the depart ment will call for if the testimony at the hearings indicates such a move is warranted. It is important that all producers attend the hearings, but it is even more imperative that they regis ter to vole on the matter. Regis tration procedure will be ex plained at the hearings and bal lots will be available for those registered at the county agent's office. VERN HOWARD offered the opinion that since other com modity commissions have done a great deal for the industries which they repre sent he sees no reason why a beef commission would not help te cow business. "It won't hurt anyone," he said, "and it just might do everybody a lot of good." ' ' - . fttJ . I . - Beef Commission By BILL Research has become the key to industrial progress and success. More and more money is being budgeted for seeking ways and means of improving products, re ducing production costs, broaden ing markets and utilization of by products. Keeping pace with the modern trend toward scientific research has been the recognition of the value of advertising and the pro motion of products. Agricultural industries have prov en the value of research and pro motion. There can be no doubt as to the important contributions science has maoe toward improv ing farming techniques and prod ucts. Those branches of agricul ture sufficiently organized to en gage in promotional campaigns de signed to increase consumption of their commodities nave seen re markable results and have been encouraged to allocate more funds for that purpose. Beef producers have seen the results of scientific experiments in their business. Recently discovered- antibiotic, hormones and genetic factors have greatly changed several aspects of the beef industry. More discoveries arc to come. If Oregon's cattlemen are willing to establish and support a b?ef commission in this state such an organization could do much to foster research into local situa tions. We have problems which other areas are not faced with as well as many which are common to the industry as a whole. We are in a unique position as far as markoting is concerned and much could be done to gain a better understanding of our. rela tions to the over-all price picture. Local experiments with advertis ing and promotional projects have proven conclusively that such ef forts on the local level are effec tive and profitable. The petition under which the proposed Oregon Beef Commission has been author ized to proceed with its hearings specifically limits the activities of the commission, if it be formed, to problems associated with mar keting. In this realm it could ac complish a great deal for Oregon's beef producers. The supporters of the idea of an Oregon Beef Commission have long been aware of the fact that ap proximately one-third o.' our state's beef is produced by dairymen. Members of - the dairy industry have been appealed to for support of the plan for a self-help pro- ROY GIENGER says that if enough states establish lo cal commissions to support the beef industry a national organization will eventually grow out of the movement. He believes that the 10 cents a head tax on cattle going to slaughter or out of the state will be well worth the investment. 8 DECKER gram and have responded favor ably. The Oregon Cattlemen's As sociation has suggested that two dairymen serve on the commis sion. Since the law requires that there be one handler of the product on each commodity commission the packing industry would be repre sented as well and this would leave very little chance that the commis sion would not represent Ihe cow Cattlemen know that consump tion of beef can be increased and that a stable market combined wirh increased vear-around con sumption will aid the industry. Rc 1 search will add to our knowledge of how to breed animals which ! will convert the least feed into the most beef in the shortest time. Promotion will help assure the consumption of that beef. STUDIES SCRIPTS NEW YORK Wl Helen Hayes will probably return to Broadway next season, but so far hasn't made up her mind which of two scripts she prefers. The veteran star is going to Eur ope this summer to confer with Anita Loos on "Cock-a-Doodle-Doisy," a play about a colorful figure in the international set, the late Lady Mendl. Miss Hayes' hus band, Charles MacArthur, was at work on the play when he died last year. Miss Hayes is also considering Jean Anouilh's "Time Remem bered." THE COVER The cover picture for this week's Herald and News Magazine Section of K'om ath Basin Living was taken by staff photographer Don Kerrler and features "Cres ty" the herd sire belonging to Haro'd W. Ray of Hills boro, Oregon. The herd will be sold here on October 7. The picture was taken with a Crown Graphic camera set at f 14 and a fiftieth of a second. 1 CHARLIE DREW, veteran Klamath County cattleman, believes that the plan to promote beef consumption would do the cow business some good. He has seen cattle prices fluctuate from one extreme to another and thinks that anything that can be done to stabilize the market would be of great benefit. 1 .- a
