AGRICULTURE: Raisin Jack

The harvesting of the bumper California raisin grape crop, which just ended, was good news last week for pigs, but bad news for taxpayers. The pigs will get most of the surplus raisins for fodder, and the taxpayers will get a bill for about $5,000,000. This giveaway program, just like the expensive program in potatoes and flaxseed, is the result of Congress’ love for price supports.

Under a quota agreement with the Department of Agriculture, a market price of $130 a ton was set on 147,000 tons of raisin grapes. To the same buyers, the growers will be permitted to sell another 63,000 tons if they can be absorbed at close to $130 a ton. The Government will have to pay for the surplus—estimated at 100,000 tons—at a top of $80 a ton, the bulk of which will probably go for pig-feed at $30 or less a ton. The Department knows that the cure is to rip up the excess vines, but it has yet to screw up its courage to force the raisin growers to do that.