Senator HUMPHREY. And he is appointed? Mr. McKEE. He is appointed by the Governor for a term. Senator HUMPHREY. And there is no board of trade or companies that have supervisor or inspection service? Mr. McKEE. That is correct with one exception, Salina Board of Trade has protein content. As far as official grading, they are all by State. Senator HUMPHREY. Do you have an appeals procedure so if somebody wants to appeal a decision of your inspector Mr. McKEE. Absolutely, yes. Mr. FISHER. Yes. Mr. MCKEE. Regular Federal appeals system, Federal appeals sys tem. Senator HUMPHREY. All right, sir, very good. That is a fine state ment. By the way, have there been any complaints that have been registered against your Kansas State Grain Inspection Department? I mean any charges of fraud or of criminal negligence? Mr. MCKEE. Not to my knowledge. Orville? Mr. FISHER. No, these things do not happen in a system of Utopia, Senator. [Laughter.] Senator HUMPHREY. Yes, I understand that. Mr. FISHER. Like we have. Senator HUMPHREY. I just want to be sure-Utopia was Kansas. I was not sure of that. [Laughter.] But in all sincerity, and seriousness, have you had any-has there been any charges made in your press or anything like that about your system? Mr. FISHER. NO. Mr. McKEE. Not to my knowledge. Go ahead now, Mr. Fisher. Mr. FISHER. Senator, I have a fond recollection of you-I have a distinct memory of having voted against you only once, and that was for mayor of Minneapolis. Senator HUMPHREY. You made a tragic mistake. How could you have made such a mistake as that? [Laughter.] Mr. FISHER. I lost my first election. Senator BELLMON. You are referring to the times he voted for you or against you? Senator HUMPHREY. Never mind-keep out of this. [Laughter.] Go ahead, Mr. Fisher. STATEMENT OF ORVILLE E. FISHER, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, TOPEKA MILL AND ELEVATOR CO., TOPEKA, KANS. Mr. FISHER. My name is Orville E. Fisher. I am vice president and general manager of the Topeka Mill & Elevator Co., Topeka, Kans. I have been actively employed in the grain business for 36 years. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with an Ag economic degree, I accepted a position with Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., for 16 years and I might add that my trainer in the grain business was Julius Hendel. Senator HUMPHREY. Could not be better. Mr. FISHER. Could not be better. As I mentioned here, my next trainer was Carl Farrington. Mr. FISHER. So with Cargill, of course, I moved around in several places-Washington, D.C., being one of them. Senator HUMPHREY. You got lost there for a moment. You should have stayed out with us pure souls. [Laughter.] Mr. FISHER. But Carl Farrington, vice president of ADM, hired me to manage the Great Northern Elevator in Duluth, Minn. Senator HUMPHREY. Yes. Mr. FISHER. This happened in 1956. And it was during the time when the seaway opened and all of a sudden in came the ocean vessels, for which elevators were not prepared. We did not even have a set of port rules at that time. After Dwaine Andreas took over ADM, why I left, and joined General Food Corporation as their commodity manager for all of their facilities, the largest being the corn mill they operate in Kankakee, Ill., annual grind of 12 million bushels a year. When they sold that corn mill, I then accepted this position, Topeka Mill and Elevator, where I am now. Senator HUMPHREY. But with all those friends in Minnesota, you still voted against me. [Laughter.] Go ahead. Mr. FISHER. My mother and father voted for Governor Langer too. Senator HUMPHREY. Now you are exonerated. [Laughter.] Senator BELLMON. I think we ought to concede he is an honest man. Senator HUMPHREY. That is right. Mr. FISHER. My present employer, which is Topeka Mill and Elevator Company, operates a 6-million-bushel elevator in Topeka, Kans., and we also have a line of elevators, 21 country elevators, that are owned and operated by the parent company, J. Lynch and Company located in Salina, Kans. It is a family-held type of operation. The reason I like this business compared to the more or less conglomerate grain business is that I am actively involved in every phase of the grain business in this particular, while, as you know, with Cargill you get stuck into one monotonous type of routine each day and that is the extent of your grain business and grain knowledge. Naturally during the 36 years in the grain business, I have been in touch with several variations in grain inspection and weighing agencies, although I can say I have never witnessed nor been a part of any irregularities in any of those inspection and weighing systems, I firmly feel that the Kansas State Grain Inspection and Weighing Agency is as good as or superior to other similar agencies functioning today. The Kansas agency is accurate, dependable, and at all times alert to the peak volume work periods of the grain movement within the State. I represent the Terminal Elevator Operators of Kansas on the Kansas Grain Advisory Commission, which is appointed by the GovI ernor and all appointments are approved by the State Senate. Other members of the commission include a representative from a Kansas cooperative organization, a banker, a farmer, a businessman, and a full-time paid director. The function of this commission is to act as a liaison between the segments of the population and the Kansas Grain Inspection Weighing and Warehousing Departments in an advisory capacity. I am actively involved in the grain business as vice president and general manager of the Topeka Mill and Elevator Company operating a 6-million-bushel terminal at Topeka, Kans. We store and purchase grain deposited by the local producer and in addition to that, we also store and merchandise grain that is originated by some 21 country elevators operated by our parent company. Those country elevators are located throughout northern Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska. Our annual handle of grain includes corn, white and yellow, wheat, grain, sorghum, and soybeans in that order. We also purchase grain that originates through independent grain dealers located in Kansas surrounding Topeka and adjacent States to complete the scope of our merchandising program. Our sales outlets include wheat millers, dry corn millers of food grade quality shipments, cattle, hog and poultry domestic feeders, and export. We have been able to sell grain to customers that normally do not or should not originate supplies from Topeka due to a slight freight rate disadvantage, but due to the fact those buyers can consistently rely on dependable quality, accurate weights and shipments as ordered, they continue to purchase a large share of their requirements from Topeka. A large share of our corn movement goes to California processors and feed lots. Whether you know it or not, California has a State law that requires any corn or grain sorghum shipments that originate in midwestern States to have a special certificate attached to the documents showing that the shipment was screened by the loading elevator. This is called a corn borer certificate, issued by the State agency, with the actual screening witnessed by a representative of the State agency who signs the certificate. We have found in our corn operation that in order to make a grade of number 2 corn when loading, all corn must be screened with the exception of that corn that is natural dried and contains 14.5 to 15.5 percent moisture. The cracked corn foreign material extracted is sold to feeders at a price less than number 2 yellow corn prices. This is a normal part of our business. There is no way known by us how we can take in 14-percent-moisture corn or less than a 2- or 3-percent foreign material content, transfer through the elevator and load out a like grade. The foreign material created in that operation will increase by 2-3 percent. This is why the corn must be screened. There is no way known to us how we can take in 14 or less moisture corn, unload it in our elevator, and transfer it through the elevator and load it out into rail cars and come out with another number 2 grade. It has to be screened before we do it. One can easily see why the problems of foreign material have existed at the gulf ports. I personally feel that no matter what law in regard to inspection Congress may adopt, it will not cure the foreign material problem created in handling process of our everincreasing corn crop production in the United States-unless the producer, the country elevator operator and the terminal buyer are educated on good handling practices of corn the problem will continue to exist. A buyer of corn, whether it be domestic or export, can purchase according to specification. He may have to pay a premium to get the desired quality but if the seller continues to sell No. 2 grade corn and purchase No. 2 grade corn and go through the unloading and loading process without cleaning, I can't see how he can make grade. We are very fortunate in the State of Kansas that we are blessed with the inspection and weighing system we have. The trusted accuracy, the reliable service, the absolute void of conflict of interest, and the reasonable self-supporting cost has aided every producer, processor, and elevator in the State to make a normal, legitimate income. Why would anyone suggest that such a system be abandoned and force us to adopt a system that could turn out to not only be cumbersome but expensive? In other words, what I am trying to say there, Senator, is that you can put any kind of laws, change any rules, the foreign material is still going to be in the corn unless an educational program is begun and the farmer, down to the farmer when he harvests corn, what moisture should he harvest it, how should he set his picker/sheller. Senator BELLMON. Does the foreign material hurt the corn? Mr. FISHER. The reduced Senator BELLMON. It is just cracked corn? Mr. FISHER. Yes. Senator BELLMON. What difference does it make? Mr. FISHER. Well, as I understand it, Senator, that when the corn is cracked, it loses its carotin value as far as feeding poultry is concerned. And your feeders say that the cattle will not fatten as quickly on broken corn as they will on whole corn. Senator BELLMON. Do they not crimp it or flake it? I never saw anybody feeding cattle whole corn. Mr. FISHER. They do that, but there is some oxidation that is tak ing place in that corn because it has cracked. Senator HUMPHREY. Once you break the cover, yes. Senator BELLMON. I would like to see us examine that corn, Mr. Chairman. I do not believe it. Mr. FISHER. Well, of course we have to take a discount for the cracked corn. Senator BELLMON. I know that, but I do not know why you have to take a discount. Mr. FISHER. The feeders tell us it is not worth in feeding value as much as whole corn, that is why they take a discount. Senator BELLMON. Could we ask the staff to get a nutritionist's opinion on that? Senator HUMPHREY. Yes, I think we should get a nutritionist's opinion. Mr. MCKEE. I would like to volunteer, Collingwood Grain has done some actual research on this subject, fed certain cattle with the cracked corn. Senator HUMPHREY. What is the result? Mr. MCKEE. No substantial difference. Senator HUMPHREY. No substantial difference in the results of the feeding? Mr. McKEE. That is correct. Senator HUMPHREY. Well, Senator Bellmon, I think we ought to look into this let's go to some land-grant college people as well as the Department and get some scientific information on it. We have been arguing about this for a long period of time. It is high time we did something about it. Let's just get a committee report on this subject and, Senator Bellmon, would you design the kind of questions you think we ought to raise. Senator BELLMON. Good. Mr. FISHER. Senator, I have one point before I close. About a year ago I was approached by a foreign country to come over and look at some grain that was loaded from the U.S. port. I will name the country-it was Nicaragua. And at that time I went over there and I took a look at the vessel, and they were in the final process of unloading it, and it did have an undue amount of foreign material. I think grain Senator BELLMON. Was it cracked corn now, or sand and gravel? Mr. FISHER. Cracked corn. Senator BELLMON. All right, it was cracked corn. Mr. FISHER. It would be classified as foreign material, broken corn foreign material. Senator BELLMON. That term is very misleading to people who do not know the business. Senator HUMPHREY. Right. Foreign material is rodent droppings, it is gravel, dirt. Senator BELLMON. There ought to be a clarification in law some way between a cracked corn, or whatever it is, and so-called foreign material. There is nothing foreign about a cracked corn or wheat. It belongs there as far as I could tell. Mr. FISHER. But they wanted to get my advice. Did they have some recourse? I looked at the contract; the documents were in order. They had grade corn out of a gulf port. The only thing I could tell them was that this corn was loaded in a dry cargoship of which they have tween decks, and the National Cargo Bureau inspects this ship prior to loading. He tells the elevator how it has to be loaded, and the elevator has to load the ship according to the National Cargo Bureau's instructions. And if you have tween decks, sometimes you have to shoot a grain 30 feet or more to fill up that corner. And I believe you probably have been through all of this. Senator HUMPHREY. Yes. Mr. FISHER. And they have to do it with the trimming machine. You are acquainted probably with it? Senator HUMPHREY. Yes. Mr. FISHER. The farther you shoot it, the faster you have to make the belt go on the trimming machine. |