Word: wheated
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Welcome rains came to parts of the Midwest and South last week, soaking parched reservoirs, saving some thirsty crops and providing water for swimming pools and lawn sprinklers -but no such fortune befell the West and Southwest. There drought stubbornly persisted like a biblical plague, withering corn and wheat, drying up horse and cattle water holes, kindling brush and forest fires (including some 400 in California), and cutting back on water and energy supplies for about 30 million Americans...
Though the dry spell has made two out of every three Western communities eligible for federal emergency drought funds, it has barely hurt California agriculture (except for wheat and cattle farms), which uses up to 85% of the water in the nation's leading agricultural state. This year's farm output is expected to be normal-around $8.9 billion-despite a second straight year of drought...
...price relief, U.S. Steel, the industry leader, unexpectedly announced last week that it would raise prices on structural shapes and tin mill products by 6% to 7% effective Sept. 4. In addition, the House last week followed the Senate's lead and approved a measure raising the wheat support price for farmers from $2.47 to $2.90 per bu. The move would add at least $470 million to the cost of the price-support program...
...which wants to help farmers without pushing prices too high. The main point of contention between the White House and Congress is the level of the so-called loan support and target prices to be included in a new farm bill. Under the present system, if market prices for wheat fall below a "target" of $2.47, the farmers get a Government check to make up the difference...
Open Confrontation. Peanut Farmer Carter has proposed raising the targets in 1978 to $2.90 for wheat and $2 for corn (v. $ 1.70 now). He calculates the cost to taxpayers at $2 billion a year, and has theatened to veto any farm measure that raises the tag. But the Senate has passed a bill that would cost almost twice as much; the House is preparing to vote on a measure priced at $2.3 billion. Both want to raise target prices this year. The differing versions will have to be reconciled in a joint conference, and the final bill is not expected...