Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 61, Number 301, Decatur, Adams County, 23 December 1963 — Page 17

MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1963

// fII \ \ * - V ' a—- — 4 Profile on FOODPOWER \fe. an d o ur S tan d ar d °f Living w7 > ’ 14 MK3tJBNIioF — — MM&Jt ■’

Analysts of our agricultural economy, and the many service industries which promote its ultimate food production effort, usually concern themselves with an elaboration of what is wrong . . . the problems of “support’’ or “supply management” philosophies ... the costs of federal programs to * our taxpayers, etc. Fact-finders too frequently become fault-finders. Consequently, ,we seldom read or hear about what is right with our dynamic food production system. In reality, the current condition of U. S. agriculture, if viewed objectively rather than from any of the many special interest viewpoints, is the envy of many nations in the world. Agriculture’s “wrongs” become relatively insignificant when compared to its “rights.” To date, our successful industrialization of traditional agricultural production has resulted in: —all the food that is necessary for a growing population;, —a variety of nutritious foods at a price most people can pay; —a small labor force necessary for food production; —a consequently large labor force available for goods and service industries; ! —a small portion of disposable income required for food; —a consequently large portion of disposable income available for the remaining goods and services that make up our standard of living. Here at Central Soya, we refer to this rather recent industrialization of our agriculture as FOODPOWER . . . U.S.A. Our agriculture is blessed with the land, the animals, the equipment, the skill . . . and the incentive ... to produce abundant food supplies efficiently. And we are doing so. Our agriculture has the facilities and skills of many service industries to support its production . . . the rails, rivers and highways'to transport its produce quickly from production areas to consumption centers . . . widespread distribution facilities to make its products available to consumers . . . and, finally, a population and economy capable of absorbing most of its production. No single gear in this production-distribution-consumption complex can be identified as the sole factor responsible for the development anrf success of this system. All are necessary. Our fertile land and. our climate are blessings of nature . . . the remaining factors are developments and refinements of man. And as they are being done in the United States today,

-J •' ■. ’ ■ / ■ ./<■ ; Chrlatmaa a f/me of rtllgloui rajolcing, a tlm» for hopa and good will, a family lima. May Chrlatmaa bring fulflllmant of your fondant hopaa. And tha approaching Naw Yaar, an ahara of good haalth, good frlanda and proaparlty.

we believe they are the very foundation on which our highly industrialized and economically developed urban society rests. It is interesting to note that throughout this production-distribu-tion phenomenon there are two prevailing forces vital to present and continued progress. The first, of course, is the necessary freedom of competition to promote large scale, high efficiency production and distribution. The second is the opportunity for sufficient reward to attract and hold investment capital. These two forces have helped make agricultural production today a highly skilled, heavily capitalized industry, demanding top managerial ability. z Oddly enough, total Soviet farm output is 30 per cent less than that of the United States even though planted Soviet acreage is 75 per cent greater, and the,farm labor force far outnumbers that of our country. Analysts of Soviet agricultural production feel the basic factors in this less enviable record are limited incentive for producers and a cutback in investment capital. Animal agriculture, the commercial feed industry and the soybean industry play a unique role in our economy.. . Last year U. S. livestock and poultry producers turned out twenty-nine billion pounds of red meat more than seven billion pounds of poultry . . . nearly sixtytwo billion eggs . . . and more than one hundred and twenty-five billion pounds of milk. More than 44 million tons of animal feeds are produced annually by the commercial feed industry. And the feed, of course, is a vital factor in the production efficiency of U. S. livestock and poultry producers. More than 29 million acres of fertile U. S. farmland are currently devoted to the growing of soybeans. Soybean processors, in carrying' out their phase of service to agriculture, are a major factor in the marketing of the more than one-and-a-half billion dollar soybean crop. The processing operations produce more than 11 million tons of high quality soybean meal, which is the protein foundation for today’s animal feeds. The Oil portion of the processing operation provides the United States and other nations with a vital, low cost supply of edible oil. With respect to Central Soya, the company is the leading processor of soybeans, with more than 50 million bushels of storage space and a total processing capacity at seven locations in excess of 70 million bushels annually.

THE DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT, DECATUR, INDIANA

There is no question about the prbduction efficiency of our animal agriculture or our abundant supply of high protein foods. Nor could we have attained this level of abundance ■ without the commercial feed and soy--bean industries. If Theoretically, a performance record like this could be made by almost any country if there were enough animals on hand, adequate feed supplies for their growth and production, and enough time and talent availableto do the job. The remarkable thing about U. S. agriculture’s performance is that, compared to other countries, it is accomplished with fewer acres of land and fewer people . . . with A'!•’<“«' o.llion A APoultry Meat „ luoN > Production founds Production Founds rJ n 32.5 ’ — 9 3Q 7.5 y 25 _ 4.5 X PRE 1950 . j Z .22 5 FIGURES 3 Z " NOT Z AVAILABLE Z 120 1.5 I—- J U 17.5 110 48 ” W 8082 ) y 04550 85 8062 > • iuiOH / Milk " erniON Production eggs Production pounds Z— __ss X 120 —Z -50 115 r ,40 105 L L U 35 I 1,1 I - I 1100 animals that make more efficient use of feed . . . with scientific feeds that promote more efficient production ... and with a dynamic distribution system that can move more meat, milk and egg products to consumers who are ready and more able to buy them. Our total production-distribution system for meat, milk and egg products is such that there is no need for large reserves of these important foods to assure continued supplies. Animal agriculture’s production is geared almost directly to consumer demand, a nearly inventory-free pipeline of abundant food production. If The basic factors in the .development of the feed and soybean industries are research, production-distribution facilities, managerial skill and invested capital. The commercial feed, industry is - founded on research . . . research that over the years- h?s established amazingly accurate maintenance and production requirements for both livestock and has developed an amazing variety of feed formulations to promote maxi-

. * days of \ Storage Stocks supply -0 -5 Mi—iM—Mi—, 0 I—IMJ RED POULTRY EGGS MILK EVAPORATID MEAT CONDENSID 0 ANO DRY WHOLE MIIK y ■ C Dijpotabl. Income Population millions spent tor FooO -U S — j_i«o — -n’ 0 "’ 1 ——_ ■«> L ;. 19% Z_i» k —JL — lt % —l_i»o \ n % iso —jr_ no 15% L. _IJI3O —JUI4% 11040 *45 *SO *SS *OO *« J 11040 *45 *SO *55 40 U

mum efficiency in the production of meat, milk and eggs. The commercial broiler industry, which came of age in the mid-forties, is an excellent example of the feed industry’s contribution to animal agriculture and the U. S. citizen’s diet. In the early thirties, what we now know as broilers required approximately five pounds of feed to gain one pound in weight, and it took approximately fifteen weeks to grow them to a suitable three pound market weight. Today, broilers require less than half that amount of feed to gain a pound in weight and can be marketed in eight weeks or less. From a consumer standpoint, U. S. citizens were eating about 14 pounds of chicken per person in 1940, with less than 15 per cent qualifying as broilers. Today, we are eating more than 30 pounds of chicken per person, and nearly 85 per cent is purchased as broilers. The true significance of the role that efficiently-produced, abundant supplies of meat, milk and eggs play in our economy can be seen in the remarkably small per cent of disposable income that America’s consumers spend for food. The multi-billion dollar soybean industry is also founded on research . . . crop research that began in the Orient nearly fifty centuries ago . . . and processing research that had its origin in Europe, came to the United States in the late thirties, and had its major refinements in the United States in the forties and early fifties. Today in the United States, soybean processing plants use the solvent extraction method of oil removal and the desolventizing-toasting method of meal production. They operate on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis with a refining loss as low as a half-gallon of solvent per ton of beans processed. Processing margins k . . . the difference between the cost of the basic commodity (soybeans) and what the fin-

ished products (soybean meal and oil) will bring in the open market... are remarkably narrow.’ In a short period of years, we have acquired an abundant soybean supply and a remarkable soybean processing efficiency. These two factors, coupled with the nutritive value of properly processed soybean meal, have given U. S. animal agriculture a foundation for production efficiency unmatched anywhere else in the world. The production facilities of the feed and soybean industries can be seen throughout our Midwestern landscape; Nests of concrete silos and series of steel tanks indicate the tremendous storage space necessary for production. Manufacturing complexes may include automatic unloading devices and a wide variety of milling, mixing and other production equipment. Distribution-wise, the two industries are a significant factor in the tonmile movement of the barge, rail and truck transportation segments of our national economy. t. The distribution methods used in serving our nation’s livestock and poultry producers are primarily based on the traditional local dealer who is assisted in his sales efforts to farm customers by a well qualified product sales manager. In the case of Central Soya, whose McMillen Feed Division makes and sells substantially more than a million tons of animal feeds each year, more than 2500 Master Mix dealers are currently serving farm customers in the eastern two-thirds of our nation. Agricultural production is indeed one of the most spectacular chapters in the story of modern civilization.. The total activity which we refer to as FOODPOWER . . . U.S.A, is the dynaiYiic bulwark of our position among nations of the world. Here in Decatur, Indiana, there are approximately 420 people whose efforts are devoted to the ultimate production of more and better food for us all. They are processing as many as 57,000 bushels of soybeans a day ... manufacturing as much as 800 tons of animal feeds daily ... and merchandising feed and food grains. That represents a lot of meat, milk and eggs for U. S. dinnertablefc ... and it takes conscientious people in the Elevator, Feed, Extraction, Feed Research, Laboratory, Steam Power, Maintenance & Repairs, Truck, Office and Plant Administration Departments to get the job done. We are proud of all of our people, and proud of the daily contribution they are making to Foodpower and our standard of living.

Central Soya ■ DECATUR, INDIANA

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