tion, in our considered judgment, for a substantial increase in funds to enlarge the program at the beginning of the next school year in September.

Out of the 43 million school enrollment only 9.7 million children at present rates of participation eat hot lunch under the school lunch program. A half-pint of milk is included with the hot lunches served under the school lunch program. Many schools participating in the school lunch program also participate in the school milk program. But considering both programs, it is estimated by the Department of Agriculture that only about 18 million children are drinking milk at school. This, of course, is less than half of the total school enrollment.

Schools serving A and B lunches under the school lunch program are reimbursed up to 4 cents for each half-pint of milk served in excess of the first half-pint included with the lunches. Schools not participating in the school lunch program receive only 3 cents reimbursement per half-pint of milk.

Based on these considerations there is not only need for expanding the school milk program to additional schools and school children, there is need for increasing and balancing the reimbursements.

A study, made several years ago by the Department of Agriculture with the assistance of 17 State educational agencies on ways and means of increasing milk consumption in schools, shows two key factors influencing the level of consumption: (1) price, and (2) availability.

One of the studies conducted in Syracuse, N. Y., illustrates how reduced cost and availability increased consumption of milk in schools. Of 37 New York elementary schools with over 16,000 children in attendance, only 9 operated a midmorning milk service prior to March 1955. Price to children was 7 or 8 cents per half-pint. Sales were low-only 542 half-pints a day.

A midmorning milk service was established in all 37 schools in March 1955. Price was reduced to 2 cents per half-pint. Milk consumption skyrocketed. During the remaining 14 weeks of school, midmorning consumption averaged over 11,442 half-pints daily. This was an increase of over 2,000 percent.

There were 16,000 children enrolled in schools studied. With an average of 4,558 nonparticipants, the question arises as to whether additional children would have participated if milk had been free.

We strongly endorse extending Sections 202 (a) and 202 (b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 which authorize the Commodity Credit Corporation to make available milk and dairy products acquired by it to the Veterans' Administration, Army, Navy, Air Force, and hospitals under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense.

We also support the inclusion of the Coast Guard and the cadets and personnel of the United States Merchant Marine Academy under Section 202 (b) so that all branches of service may have access to dairy products acquired by CCC.

Mr. Chairman, expiring at the same time as the above programs— June 30, 1958-is the program to eradicate brucellosis. We strongly urge that the excellent program that has been made toward the complete eradication of this costly disease be continued. We believe that the present level of expenditures ought to be provided by the Congress through June 30, 1960.

Legislation before the committee which extends the school lunch milk, Veteran's Administration and service dairy products distribution and the brucellosis programs has been introduced by Congresswoman Coya Knutson, and Congressmen Lester Johnson, and Pat Jennings. Their respective bills are as follows: H. R. 10390, H. R. 10324, and H. R. 10859. We ask your earnest consideration and approval of these bills.

Mr. ABERNETHY. Thank you very much, Mr. Kenfield.

Are there questions?

We thank you very much, sir.

Mr. KENFIELD. Thank you very much for the time and consid

eration.

Mr. ABERNETHY. Dr. J. A. McCallam.

Patrick Healy.

All right, Mr. Healy.

STATEMENT OF PATRICK HEALY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION, ACCOMPANIED BY NELSON POST

Mr. HEALY. My name is Patrick B. Healy, and I am assistant secretary of the National Milk Producers Association.

Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would like to introduce Nelson Post, who works with us, and I would like to have him participate with me in this testimony.

Mr. ABERNETHY. Be glad to have you, Mr. Post.

Mr. HEALY. Mr. Chairman, we have a statement here which I would like to have filed and be allowed to comment on it briefly,

Mr. ABERNETHY. The statement will be included in the record at this point, and you may proceed with such extemporaneous statements as you desire.

Mr. HEALY. All right, sir.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

STATEMENT OF PATRICK B. HEALY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, NATIONAL MILK PRO

DUCERS FEDERATION

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee: We thank the committee for giving us this opportunity to discuss with you the special milk program for children, the brucellosis eradication program and the milk program for the Armed Forces and Veterans' Administration. The dairy producer members of the National Milk Producers Federation, through their cooperatives, continue their interest in and support of these programs.

The federation is a national organization of dairy farmer-owned and dairy farmer-controlled cooperatives. The cooperative membership of the federation exceeds 800. These cooperatives have a dairy producer membership in excess of 500,00 farm families. The cooperatives in our federation are located in all 48 States.

The policies of the federation in support of the programs before the committee were developed by the dairy producer membership of our cooperatives. This means that the policy position of the federation on national legislative and administrative issues represents the views of the people most knowledgeable about the production and marketing of milk-the dairy producers.

Policies of the federation of immediate interest to this committee were developed and adopted by the voting delegates at our 41st annual meeting held in Cincinnati, Ohio, last November. These policies state that:

We commend the action of Congress in authorizing the use of Commodity Credit Corporation stocks of dairy products by the military establishments and Veterans' Administration. We further commend the various branches of the Government for taking advantage of these congressional acts by establishing pro

cedures under which the consumption of fluid milk and manufactured dairy products has been increased by these agencies. We urge that these programs be extended to include other related agencies, such as the Maritime Service and others.

We commend the action taken by the Congress in authorizing the special milk program, providing additional funds, and extending the program for 2 years. The federation staff and members are urged to work toward a permanent authorization for the program.

The eradication of communicable diseases in livestock is desirable both from a standpoint of public health and the great economic losses suffered by farmers. We support Federal programs, with proper controls, for the eradication of leptospirosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis or other diseases that may endanger dairy herds and other livestock. We urge that Federal funds be provided to fulfill this purpose.

We commend the Congress on its recognition of the importance of this program as again evidenced by its extending the authority for an accelerated brucellosis eradication program to June 30, 1958, with increased funds and without requiring State matching funds. A permanent authorization for this program should be provided.

SPECIAL MILK PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

The farsightedness of this committee, in its continuing efforts to provide programs for the constructive use of our abundant dairy production, is well evidenced in the special milk program for children authorized by Congress in 1954. The objective of this program "to increase the consumption of fluid milk by children in schools, child-care centers and similar nonprofit institutions devoted to the care and training of children" is being accomplished. The attached charts developed from information published by the United States Department of Agriculture show clearly the high acceptance of this program and its effectiveness. We want to take this opportunity not only to express our appreciation to the committee for helping to make this program a reality, but to the public and private agencies and the local dairymen for the cooperation and interest they have shown. This cooperative spirit has made this a highly successful grantin-aid program.

The program has brought about an expansion of the consumption base for milk in our schools and in other child-care institutions and agencies, and has improved nutritional levels.

We urge the continuation of this program on a permanent basis.

ARMED FORCES-VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION DAIRY PROGRAM

The following table shows the activity in this program for each year since its inception. The success of the program in expanding the base of consumption for milk and dairy products in the Armed Forces and in facilities of the Veterans' Administration is sound justification for the continuation of this program.

Increased consumption of fluid milk and dairy products in the Armed Forces and Veterans' Administration

The abundant production of our dairy farms has, through this program, been made available to these groups thereby making it possible to assure the nutritional adequacy of the diets of these groups and to secure this assurance at little or no cost to the Defense Department or the Veterans' Administration. We urge the committee to consider favorably those bills which would include the United States Coast Guard and the cadets and personnel of the Merchant Marine Academy in the present authority to participate in this program for expanded use of fluid milk and dairy products.

We ask that authority for this program be made permanent.

BRUCELLOSIS ERADICATION PROGRAM

The accelerated brucellosis eradication program authorized by Congress in 1954 is now 3 years old. The progress made in this program has been most impressive. Its success demonstrates the effectiveness of Federal, State, and producer cooperation and the interest of dairy producers and other livestock owners to free their herds of brucellosis. The support given this accelerated program following the congressional expression of interest shows there is real interest in carrying the eradication of this disease to a successful conclusion. Since the start of the accelerated program 3 years ago, substantial progress has been made over the period immediately preceding the authorization by Congress. The attached chart demonstrates this fact. We note from this chart the pronounced increase in progress following 1954. This development shows a real momentum. This momentum can continue, but only if Congress extends the program and authorizes adequate funds for its use. Since there has been greater Federal interest in the program, the State financial participation has also increased substantially. This is good and has been the force behind the growing momentum in the program. At the present time, 10 States: Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, Delaware, and Puerto Rico are in a modified certified brucellosis free status. In 1954 there were only three: Maine New Hampshire, and North Carolina. At the end of 1957 there were 489 counties in the remaining States in this same status. In 1954 there were only 350 counties in this status.

We are urging an extension of the program at the $20 million level on the following grounds: First, the accelerated program is just exactly what was needed to start toward the complete eradication of brucellosis. Second, a fullpowered program made possible by adequate funds can get us to a nationally certified status more quickly than one that is underpowered because of shorttime authority or a shortage of funds. Third, adequate financing now at the $20 million level and for a period of time should actually cost less than a program faced with inadequate financing. Fourth, once we have eradicated brucellosis, the cost of maintaining that position will be considerably less than present expenditures and should appear as an item in the regular budget.

SPECIAL MILK PROGRAM

TABLE I.-Number of schools participating, fiscal years 1955–57

1 Preliminary. March 1957 peak month in terms of schools participating nationally (includes child -care institutions).

2 Not participating.

Source: U. S. Department of Agriculture.

TABLE II.—Number of one-half pints of milk reimbursed with Federal funds. fiscal years, 1955-57

TABLE III.-National Status-Comparative brucellosis data

Blood tests:

Herds tested.

Reactor herds.

Cattle tested.

Reactor cattle.

Reactors

slaughtered..

Percent.

Vaccinations

685, 247 641, 477 755, 963 2,082, 687 1, 171, 619 1, 128, 315 1, 232, 535 3,532, 469 115, 270 107, 198 101, 985 324, 453 169, 516 136, 298 121, 161 426,975 7,918, 526 8, 108, 583 10, 198, 460 26, 225, 569 17, 128, 877 15, 698, 423 16, 654, 867 49, 482, 167 302, 631 268, 544 249, 667 820,842 429, 228 309, 179 271, 167 1,009, 574

Certifications:

Mr. HEALY. The National Milk Producers Federation is a national farm organization and is representative of some 800 dairy farmers cooperatives located in every State in the United States.

Mr. ABERNETHY. That is not some new outfit of any kind, is it? Mr. HEALY. No, sir. It is the oldest and largest of the national commodity farm organizations.

Mr. ABERNETHY. I just thought you would want to get that commercial in the record.

Mr. HEALY. Thank you very much. We have been in business 42 years.

Each year we have an annual convention at which time the dairy farmers' representatives file policy to be adopted by the organization