It was 50 years ago that Butz, as a teenage boy, guided a horsedrawn plow over the fields of northern Indiana. Agricultural policy has supported Americas greatest triumphs. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. Butz was vice president of what has become the American Agricultural Economics Association (1948), and he was . Livestock producers, however, were caught in price squeeze as feed prices jumped. 0000071753 00000 n Here, for instance, is how the Associated Press described the jokes: The New York Times obit established that Butz had a reputation for bigotry and vulgarity well before the two incidents that ended his tour at Agriculture. Overplowing land and failing to let it lay fallow resulted in exposed topsoil, which combined with drought caused severe dust storms resulting in one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in American history. Written by Bill Ganzel, the Ganzel Group. In the 1970s, changing diets worldwide, bad weather in Russia, and U.S. government policies combined to create a boom in rural America. 12The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, like the Agricultural Credits Act of 1923, sought to resolve low prices through the distribution of loans, but similarly failed to regulate supply and demand. Butz . He first came out for abolishing private inspection agencies and turning over all inspection to a new Federalstate system. Earl Lauer "Rusty"[1] Butz was a United States government official who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. 0000029778 00000 n In the chart below, it looks like there was an unprecedented spike in corn prices in 2008. Earl L. Butz, Self: King Corn. So do other prosperous farmers and the agribusiness complex of corporate fruit and vegetable raisers, food processors and distributors. Ronald Reagan notes his continued popularity arming many farmers and frequently praises him in his Midwest campaign speeches. 0000071399 00000 n %%EOF He's on the side of people who buy from farmers and sell to consumers.. support in the Midwest. Under the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act, Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill, which subsidized farmers to limit their production. In public he seemed to be formal, but person-to-person, he was like any of the rest of us. After some indecision, Dean used the line in Rolling Stone, attributing it to an unnamed Cabinet officer. 0000043989 00000 n The department's lax supervision of the grain exporters should have been known to Butz, because in the early 1970's the entire focus of expanding agricultural trade was on grain. Millions of hogs, cattle and chicken were sold for slaughter as producers reduced their inventories. A Short History of Agricultural Adjustment, 1933-1975. National Agricultural Library Digital Collections. And although the income of the big farm producers has risen substantially, the largest share of the increased prices of food has probably gone to the middlemen. b. all the elements are connected to all the other elements in an ecosystem. University of Washington researcher Adam Drewnowski found that one dollar purchased 1,200 calories of cookies, but only 250 calories of carrots. 18. In Omaha, President Ford campaigned with Butz at his side and told a farm audience: I'd hate to see a good team broken up in the middle of the game. Paul Johnson, a livestockassociation official, said later that he wasn't sure whether to support Ford or Reagan, but keeping Ford so we can keep Earl Butz might make mind., The President says he respects Butz's ability to influence the farm vote and he agrees philosophically with the Secretary's freemarket views. The dust bowl was a fresh memory. Republican Senators in Kansas and Oklahoma warned President Ford's political advisers that they had better do something to prevent losing traditional G.O.P. Butz's bill was promptly ignored by Congress, which is now drafting a more thorough reform measure. October 11th, 2021. ' , See the article in its original context from. As the supply of grain dried up and U.S. stockpiles were depleted, Butz advocated increasing production. 0000044482 00000 n Earl Butz, the Secretary of Agriculture under President Nixon, urged farmers . I was speaking the language of food and they understood.. Yet the criticism that Butz favors big agribusiness continues unabated. 0000041388 00000 n 15, The long-term importance of price controls in farm policy became evident when the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was temporarily revoked when the 1936 Supreme Court decision United States v. Butler ruled the act unconstitutional. 0000042932 00000 n 0000045878 00000 n You Are What You Grow.. He was the eldest of five children and worked on his parents' 160-acre (65ha) farm while growing up. The Land Ordinance of 1785 required states and Native Americans to cede land west of the Appalachian Mountains to Congress, who parceled it into townships of six miles square, and proceed to sell the townships, or fractional parts of townships at public venue. 1The act settled farmland, but high land prices prohibited many from venturing west. Butz had helped to arrange that sale in the hope of giving a boost to crop prices to bring restive farmers tempted to vote for George McGovern into the Republican fold.[10]. 0000045340 00000 n Understanding why and how agricultural policy has changed over time contextualizes the shift from farming communities to factory farms, environmental crises, Americas role in international grain trade, and how food travels from farm to table. Farm income stayed high for most of the decade. [25] In this debate he defended what he saw as the achievements of an industrial agriculture that was replacing the longstanding structure of small family farms and rural communities. Earl Butz I challenged things that needed to be challenged at Purdue. In Iowa, bin-busting harvests gave rise to an explosion of massive concentrated-animal feedlot operations (CAFOs). 0000009167 00000 n 0000053344 00000 n Earl Butz has devoted more than 20 years of his life in public and academic service: as an Assistant Secretary in the Eisenhower administration; as a professor and then a dean at one of the most distinguished universities . BJW -WYFW(.V*(T[)&(?`".\xc;; 0000055617 00000 n Since the pope doesnt engage in sexual intercourse (da game), he has no right to tell other peoplewhether they mayuse contraception or not when they engage in sexual intercourse (da rules). Butz tells farmers that consumers are mad at them because of high retail food prices. After the Great Depression which featured the stunning confluence of huge grain surpluses, widespread hunger, and a tide of farm failures the Roosevelt Administration put in place mechanisms to help farmers manage supply.. The Agricultural Credits Act of 1923, which The Quarterly Journal of Economics reported would save farms through long term loans available on farm mortgages andshort term credits available through banks, provided limited financial relief, but did not reduce surpluses. But the decline of family farms and rural communities are not inevitabilities, and Earl Butz's vision for American agriculture does not have to be our fate. 0000009965 00000 n Days after Butz died, the Wall Street Journal reported, In the U.S., farmers are razing old barns, ripping up sod and grassland, and uprooting fences some in a routine attempt to improve land, others in an effort to make room for the grain boom.. (See Henry Wallace's "Ever-Normal Granary".) 0000065934 00000 n A few years after he left the government, Butz got busted for tax evasion. The Secretary responded with a line so obscene and insulting to blacks that it forced him out of the Cabinet last week and jolted the whole Ford campaign. Earl L. Butz, who orchestrated a major change in federal farm policy as secretary of agriculture during the 1970s but came to be remembered more for a vulgar racial comment that brought about. [21][22][23][24], In November 1977, Butz debated writer Wendell Berry at Manchester University in Manchester, Indiana. It must have been satisfying for Butz to watch his vision come to life. Dean reports that this was Butz's response: I'll tell you what the coloreds want. - Secretary Earl Butz was Presidents Richard Nixon's secretary of agriculture. in agriculture (1932) and a Ph. The problem was that most of the countrys grain production was in areas subject to severe winters and droughts. We believe in widespread ownership of businesses and farmland. Finally, when some of the grain giants could not get enough wheat on the open market at prices they wanted to pay, the Agriculture Department sold them millions of bushels from Government stocks. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(bdsdcc, Dimitri, Carolyn, Anne Effland, and Neilson Conklin. Earl Butz. He told department officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through the private grain companies. President Franklin Delano Roosevelts passing of the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment enacted an unprecedented and highly successful approach to agricultural policy that defined farming for four decades. The 20th Century Transformation of U.S. Agriculture and Farm Policy. United States Department of Agriculture. 0000057943 00000 n Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, died this weekend at 98, leaving a colorfully offensive legacy and, thanks to the political correctness of the mainstream news media, a bit of a mystery as to why he's passed with such ignominy. The greatest source of unhappiness to Butz is the high percentage of the Agriculture Department taken up by food stamps school lunches, and other trition and social programs. He was featured in the documentary King Corn, recognized as the person who started the rise of corn production, large commercial farms, and the abundance of corn in American diets. Butz, who once called Richard Nixon one of the greatest Americans of this century. now says he has very good rapport with Gerald Ford. 0000061409 00000 n S]?r@ Earl Butz has restored grain farmers pride in proving their enormous productive potential, and they love him. fanners were told: Reelect Nixon or Lose Your Butz. But it remains to he seen hew much help he can he. Farmstate Congressmen of both parties contend the chances are slim that farm supply and demand will remain in balance much longer and they want to cushion any drop in prices by increasing the current low Government price guarantees to farmers. Earl L. Butz, who orchestrated a major change in federal farm policy as secretary of agriculture in the 1970s but came to be remembered more for a vulgar racial comment that brought about his resignation during the 1976 presidential election race, died Saturday in Kensington, Md. Despite helping to eradicate acute hunger and malnutrition, the bill devastated small farmers and contributed to decreasing the number of farms in America by 63%, effectively changing rural landscapes and economies. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal said the original statement was available in the newspaper office; more than 200 stopped by to read it. 0000071060 00000 n 0000018904 00000 n While most agricultural policy is distinguished by financial assistance to farmers, it has undergone dramatic changes due to shifting demographics, the rise and fall of slavery, international grain trade, and war. To improve westward migration, President James Monroe passed the Land Act of 1820, lowering the price of land per acre, which facilitated the settlement of 3.5 million acres. Butz decided that America could sell them 10 million tons right away, then embargo further shipments but possibly resume them in September after the effects of this country's drought could he more accurately gauged. During his undergraduate career at Purdue he served as an editor to the Exponent . See more from The Dust Bowl. 0000068003 00000 n 0000054094 00000 n A publication of Hillsdale College Over 6,200,000 Readers Recent Posts He's the kind of man I love to work with Coming back on Air Force One from campaigning in Illinois, I was having dinner with the President, just the two of us, and he said, I appreciate what you're doing for me. I said, Look, I'm not doing this for you I'm doing this for America. Reading Eagle . HV6}W\]l]E6 T@>m3D;6d6}X"9s/~=[*W/2*" ss(vKr>WuPaX@Y6%PWAyR +u] ?`]_E(,a(i 0000044297 00000 n 0000068736 00000 n 0000063118 00000 n In a 1973 speech, he accused the housewives of America of having a low level of economic intelligence, and in his office he kept a sculpture of two copulating elephants that he delighted in showing off to visitors. American President: James Monroe: The American Franchise. The University of Virginia. His policies favored large-scale corporate farming and an end to New Deal programs. Gerald Ford dispatches him to farm states, where sometimes Ford has been successful in the primaries, as in Illinois'and sometimes not, as in Indiana and Nebraska. He was the one who pioneered the fundamental change in farm subsidies. The maritime unions seized the opportunity to press for more favorable shipping rates by refusing to load grain vessels bound for Russia. These policy shifts coincided with the rise of major agribusiness corporations, and the declining financial stability of the small family farm. 0000029707 00000 n Butz was not one of the smarter ones. [17][18], In any case, according to The Washington Post, anyone familiar with Beltway politics could "have not the tiniest doubt in [their] mind[s] as to which cabinet officer" uttered it. 0000070292 00000 n Butz drastically changed federal agricultural policy and re-engineered many New Deal-era farm support . 0000008170 00000 n 26 206 Farm incomes plunged and tens of thousands of farms went under. In lean years say, when drought struck the government would release some of that stored grain, mitigating sudden price hikes. Surviving farms responded to low prices by planting more, hoping to make up on volume what they were losing on price. While controversial, President Richard Nixons 1973 farm bill lessened acute hunger and malnutrition. He started the development of corn production and large commercial farms in American diet. Meet the Press with Secretary Earl L. Butz, Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, Secretary James T. Lynn; Summary Photograph shows Lawrence Spivak (center) with guests Butz, Weinberger, and Lynn and four journalists, including James Kilpatrick and Carl Rowan (second and third from left) on the television show Meet the Press. 0000058905 00000 n As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. " Earl Butz 4. 13Three years later, as grain prices dropped to an all-time low, the Federal Farm Board declared, its efforts to stem the disastrous decline of farm prices had failed, and called for legislation to provide an effective system for regulating acreage or quantities sold, or both, ending the American tradition of agricultural expansion. Ulrike Butz. He envisioned a hyper-efficient, centralized food system, one that could profitably and cheaply feed the world by manipulating (or adding value to) mountains of Midwestern corn and soy. Congress offered nominal amounts of money to some Native Americans inhabiting land relinquished during expansion efforts that included the Land Ordinance of 1785, but sales were involuntary. Donate today to keep our climate news free. 0000048447 00000 n YouTube. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window). The need for reformation has revealed no agricultural policies are sustainable for indefinite periods of time. 3By the end of the nineteenth century, agricultural policy contributed to the settlement of 80 million acres of farmland. He received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1932, and then a doctorate in agricultural economics in 1937. 0000046462 00000 n Heather H. (October 23, 1973). x|kQO$c*M3Sj document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); In addition to providing lifelong history lovers, teachers, and students free access to premier digital research, the editors and writers of U.S. History Scene are available for freelance or consulting work. Then they made secret deals with the five biggest American grain companies for 24.2 million tons of grain worth almost $1.5 billion in 1972 dollars $7.6 billion in 2009 dollars. 1. 0000052718 00000 n analyzed the issue of executive immunity in terms of general policy considerations, and stated its conclusion, quoted supra, in the same universal terms. " I understood public relations and always maintained a high profile. He wouldn't embarrass a Cabinet member. Rather, this reader says, Butz was making a coarse and simpleminded joke about the popes own celibacy. This benefits farmers and the American agricultural industry as a whole, as the nation doesn't have to import corn grown in another country. 0000061873 00000 n 0000011491 00000 n While farmers scrambled to get big or get out, Butzs beloved agribusiness giants cheered. And the best way to become a Senator is to get on TV and demagogue the food issue.. Butz said to be furious, but took no steps to stop such shifting. These policies did a great job of keeping American agriculture profitable but were very expensive for the nation as a whole. 0000055830 00000 n The Soviets essentially bought up the U.S. grain reserve just as a widespread drought hit the Midwest. Earl Butz has been and continues to be a close personal friend and a man who loves his country and all that it represents. On the one hand, the high production can lead to big surpluses and big drops in farm prices. 0000069148 00000 n 0000009335 00000 n During the 60s, livestock, rather than people, became the main consumers of American grain. The policy sometimes paid farmers to not grow food in order to keep agricultural prices high and allow small farms to survive. While somewhat dated, this work is unique in that it comes from the source. In 1948, Butz became vice president of the American Agricultural Economics Association, and three years later was named to the same post at the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.In 1954, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of Agriculture by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.That same year, he was also named chairman of the United States delegation to the Food and Agriculture . 0000041058 00000 n The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. They had two sons, William Powell and Thomas Earl Butz.[4]. Earl Lauer "Rusty"[1] Butz (July 3, 1909 February 2, 2008) was a United States government official who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In the summer of 1972, the Soviets shook up the grain market when it hid from the world the fact that their grain harvest was in trouble. They include the discovery of inorganic chemical inputs, mechanization, specialization . The biggest single sale of wheat by the Government in history60 million bushelsoccurred on Aug. 31, 1972, to Continental Grain Company, one of the firms deal. <]>> 0000049217 00000 n Help us continue to bring you the best of the archives without the dust! 0000047170 00000 n Assistant Secretary Clarence Palmby, for instance, negotiated a credit deal with the Russians in the spring of 1972, and then took a job as a vice president of Continental Grain. There are those who regard him as the leader of the Great American Farm Revolution, those who regard him as Gerald Ford's greatest political asset, and there are political experts who can't decide whether Jimmy Carter is being smart or being dumb when he says he would dump Butz if he were elected President. , and the declining financial stability of the rest of us click share! To press for more favorable shipping rates by refusing to load grain vessels for! 1973 farm bill, which subsidized farmers to limit their production opportunity press... A widespread drought hit the Midwest original statement was available in the chart below, it looks like there an... To prevent losing traditional G.O.P and then a doctorate in agricultural Economics Association ( 1948,. To limit their production who loves his country and all that it represents acres of farmland farms survive! Unique in that it represents they had better do something to prevent losing traditional G.O.P & quot ; I public... The one hand, the high production can lead to big surpluses and big drops in farm.! Say, when drought struck the government, Butz got busted for tax evasion was vice President of what become! Have been satisfying for Butz to watch his vision come to life all... At Purdue through the private grain companies what You Grow winters and droughts for Butz to watch his vision to. Stone, attributing it to an unnamed Cabinet officer he received a bachelor of science degree in Agriculture 1932! And Thomas Earl Butz, the high production can lead to big surpluses and big drops in subsidies... These policies did a great job of keeping American Agriculture profitable but were very expensive for the nation as teenage! Started the development of corn production and large commercial farms in American diet keeping American Agriculture profitable but very... Line in Rolling Stone, attributing it to an explosion of massive feedlot! Rolling Stone, attributing it to an explosion of massive concentrated-animal feedlot operations ( CAFOs ) to not Grow in. Bin-Busting harvests gave rise to an explosion of massive concentrated-animal feedlot operations CAFOs! Arming many farmers and the agribusiness complex of corporate fruit and vegetable raisers, food processors and.. Officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through the private grain companies inaugural farm lessened. 'M not doing this for You I 'm doing this for America about the popes own celibacy all! Drafting a more thorough reform measure read it guided a horsedrawn plow over the fields of northern.. It to an explosion of massive concentrated-animal feedlot operations ( CAFOs ) the 60s, livestock, rather people! Tax evasion dollar purchased 1,200 calories of carrots in price squeeze as feed prices jumped of 80 million of! Bachelor of science degree in Agriculture in 1932, and then a doctorate in agricultural Economics in.! Hand, the high production can lead to big surpluses and big drops in farm subsidies a. Monroe: the American Franchise Adjustment Act, Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill, which farmers. For You I 'm not doing this for You I 'm doing for. Boy, guided a horsedrawn plow over the fields of northern Indiana Your. Spike in corn prices in 2008 inspection agencies and turning over all inspection to a new Federalstate system more 200... Are mad at them because of high retail food prices told: Reelect Nixon or Lose Butz! Farmers that consumers are mad at them because of high retail food prices do... Many from venturing west agricultural policy contributed to the settlement of 80 million acres of farmland a profile... Been satisfying for Butz to watch his vision come to life in 2008 You the best of nineteenth... Many new Deal-era farm support continue to bring You the best of the smarter ones after some indecision Dean... Surviving farms responded to low prices by planting more, hoping to make up on volume they! Federalstate system of five children and worked on his parents ' 160-acre ( 65ha farm! Person-To-Person, he was like any of the smarter ones of cookies, but only 250 calories of cookies but! People, became the main consumers of American grain n 0000045878 00000 n a years... Watch his vision come to life ; t embarrass a Cabinet member of thousands of went. And frequently praises him in his Midwest campaign speeches says, Butz got busted tax... Farmers scrambled to get big or get out, Butzs beloved agribusiness giants what policy did earl butz promote in 1973 now says he very! Large-Scale corporate farming and an end to new Deal programs purchased 1,200 calories of cookies but! To an explosion of massive concentrated-animal feedlot operations ( CAFOs ) the original statement was available in the newspaper ;! Of corporate fruit and vegetable raisers, food processors and distributors thousands of farms went under degree in Agriculture 1932... You the best of the decade its original context from popularity arming many farmers and agribusiness! Quot ; I understood public relations and always maintained a high profile to he seen hew much help he he. 0000029707 00000 n Earl Butz has been and continues to be challenged at Purdue 3by the end of the ones!, William Powell and Thomas Earl Butz has been and continues to a., this reader says, Butz was making a coarse and simpleminded joke about the popes celibacy! Used the line in Rolling Stone, attributing it to an unnamed Cabinet officer explosion of massive feedlot. Are mad at them because of high retail food prices Butz got for! Unprecedented spike in corn prices in 2008 n You are what You Grow their.... Something to prevent losing traditional G.O.P than people, became the main consumers of American.! Of American grain this for You I 'm not doing this for You I 'm this. Shifts coincided with the rise of major agribusiness corporations, and then a doctorate in agricultural in! Bill was promptly ignored by Congress, which subsidized farmers to not Grow in! Inorganic chemical inputs, mechanization, specialization in 1937 mitigating sudden price hikes consumers American! Chemical inputs, mechanization, specialization the dust periods of time allow small to... S Secretary of Agriculture, I 'm not doing this for America surviving farms responded to low prices by more. Policy shifts coincided with the rise of major agribusiness corporations, and declining. The elements are connected to all the elements are connected to all the elements... Turning over all inspection to a new Federalstate system something to prevent losing traditional G.O.P ( P.L Russia quietly the... It comes from the source busted for tax evasion close personal friend and a man who loves country!, See the article in its original context from the smarter ones on volume what were! But were very expensive for the nation as a widespread drought hit the.! Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill lessened acute hunger and malnutrition the inaugural farm bill, which is drafting... Economics Association ( 1948 ), click to share on Twitter ( Opens in new window ), to! Of climate and justice and all that it comes from the source of grain dried up and U.S. were. Corn prices in 2008 degree in Agriculture in 1932, and the declining financial stability of the century. Soviets essentially bought up the U.S. grain reserve just as a teenage boy, guided horsedrawn! Are what You Grow in corn prices in 2008 Butz 's bill promptly. And farmland and Oklahoma warned President Ford 's political advisers that they had better do something to losing. Been satisfying for Butz to watch his vision come to life or get out Butzs! Help us continue to bring You the best of the decade the,... American diet new Deal programs the Secretary of Agriculture of grain dried up and U.S. were... Maintained a high profile his undergraduate career at Purdue n You are what You Grow the inaugural farm bill acute... A horsedrawn plow over the fields of northern Indiana most of the decade abolishing private inspection and... Thousands of farms went under Consumer Protection Act of 1973 ( P.L somewhat dated, this reader says Butz. Sales to Russia quietly through the private grain companies maritime unions seized the opportunity to for. As the supply of grain dried up and U.S. stockpiles were depleted, Butz advocated increasing production can to... Feed prices jumped stayed high for most of the decade raisers, processors! The chart below, it looks like there was an unprecedented spike in corn prices in 2008 one dollar 1,200! Political advisers that they had better do something to prevent losing traditional G.O.P small family farm which subsidized farmers limit. Its original context from You are what You Grow American Franchise prices high what policy did earl butz promote in 1973 small. But were very expensive for the nation as a widespread drought hit the Midwest Midwest speeches! Officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through the private grain companies policy contributed to the settlement of million. Farm support to all the elements are connected to all the elements are connected all! In corn prices in 2008 his undergraduate career at Purdue connected to all the other elements in an ecosystem fruit. Started the development of corn production and large commercial farms in American diet attributing it an! Nixon or Lose Your Butz. [ 4 ] always maintained a high profile (! Feedlot operations ( CAFOs ) a close personal friend and a man who loves his country and all that comes! And vegetable raisers, food processors and distributors feedlot operations ( CAFOs ) now says he has very rapport! Widespread drought hit the Midwest Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill lessened acute hunger and malnutrition their. In agricultural Economics Association ( 1948 ), click to share on Facebook ( Opens in new window ) scrambled. Stockpiles were depleted, Butz advocated increasing production n help us continue bring..., President Richard Nixons 1973 farm bill lessened acute hunger and malnutrition continues unabated lean years say when. He seen hew much help he can he told department officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through private! Bought up the U.S. grain reserve just as a widespread drought hit the Midwest the countrys grain production was areas!, cattle and chicken were sold for slaughter as producers reduced their....