Farmers are being saved approximately $80 million a year by the repeal in 1956 of Federal taxes on gasoline used in tractors and other machinery.

Since 1953, appropriations have been doubled for county agents, home agents and the Extension Service.

Eligibility for Social Security benefits has been extended to farmers and their families.

Yet in certain aspects our agricultural surplus situation is increasingly grave.  For example, our wheat stocks now total 1.3 billion bushels.  If we did not harvest one bushel of wheat in this coming year, we would still have all we could eat, all we could sell abroad, all we could give away, and still have a substantial carryover.  Extraordinary costs are involved just in management and disposal of this burdensome surplus.  Obviously important adjustments must still come.  Congress must enact additional legislation to permit wheat and other farm commodities to move into regular marketing channels in an orderly manner and at the same time afford the needed price protection to the farmer.  Only then will agriculture again be free, sound, and profitable.

NATURAL RESOURCES

New emphasis has been placed on the care of our national parks.  A ten year development program of our National Park System—­Mission 66—­was initiated and 633,000 acres of park land have been added since 1953.

Appropriations for fish and wildlife operations have more than doubled.  Thirty-five new refuges, containing 11,342,000 acres, have been added to the national wildlife management system.

Our Nation’s forests have been improved at the most rapid rate in history.

The largest sustained effort in water resources development in our history has taken place.  In the field of reclamation alone, over 50 new projects, or project units, have been authorized since 1953—­including the billion dollar Colorado River Storage Project.  When all these projects have been completed they will have a storage capacity of nearly 43 million acre-feet—­an increase of 50 percent over the Bureau of Reclamation’s storage capacity in mid-1953.  In addition, since 1953 over 450 new navigation flood control and multiple purpose projects of the Corps of Engineers have been started, costing nearly 6 billion dollars.

Soil and water conservation has been advanced as never before.  One hundred forty-one projects are now being constructed under the Watershed Protection Program.

Hydroelectric power has been impressively developed through a policy which recognizes that the job to be done requires comprehensive development by Federal, State, and local governments and private enterprise.  Teamwork is essential to achieve this objective.

The Federal Columbia River power system has grown from two multipurpose dams with a 2.6 million kilowatt capacity to 17 multipurpose projects completed or under construction with an ultimate installed capacity of 8.1 million kilowatts.  After years of negotiation, a Columbia River Storage Development agreement with Canada now opens the way for early realization of unparalleled power, flood control and resource conservation benefits for the Pacific Northwest.  A treaty implementing this agreement will shortly be submitted to the Senate.