Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing Additional Acreage Allotments of Durum Wheat.

I HAVE TODAY approved S. 323, providing for additional acreage allotments of durum wheat for 1957. I have done so with great reluctance.

The Department of Agriculture advises that on the basis of current statistics it appears that the carry over of durum wheat on July 1, 1957, will be about fifteen million bushels. There are now approximately two million bushels of rust resistant varieties of durum wheat seed available for planting, and this seed has been distributed in the durum producing States for seeding the 1957 crop. It is more than adequate to fill all needs for durum wheat in 1957.

In 1955 and 1956, the Department of Agriculture felt that the shortage of seed and the prevalence of rust necessitated special incentives to encourage the production of durum wheat, but this is no longer the case. So I agree with the Department of Agriculture that on economic grounds there is no justification for continuing this program, especially when it is considered that durum wheat commands a premium price. I have approved the bill, however, only because it represents a close-out of the special programs adopted two years ago. With adequate seed, and with the incentive this year to produce durum wheat that this bill provides, I will oppose any special programs for durum wheat in the future.