And Brunthaver has since returned to Cook. Five years later, he pled guilty to tax evasion and served a short stint in jail. After Butzwell, the jokes about gays limped along for awhile, but it finally sank in that racism and anti-Semitism would seldom be tolerated, even in private. Blustering, boisterous, and often vulgar, Butz lorded over the U.S. farm scene at a key period. 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. The success of expansion-based policy became increasingly evident in the early twentieth century as American agriculture supported global markets and wartime needs. 0000058905 00000 n New York: Harper & Row, 1979. Butz said: "I'll tell you what the coloreds want. Butz was furious. 0000009209 00000 n It's like naming someone from Gulf Oil to be consumer representative at the Federal Energy Administration., This March, an independent group of scientists who operate the Center for Science in the Public Interest named Butz to its Terrible Ten list of persons and institutions that favor unwise food policies saying that the Department of Agriculture has changed beefgrading guidelines in a way that gyps the consumer, has liquidated the pricestabilizing grain reserves and has sought to undercut the foodstamp, schoollunch and other Federal food assistance programs., George McGovern says that although Butz is often referred to as the greatest Secretary of Agriculture, he isn't even in the same league with Henry Agard Wallace, who conceived of and administered many of the innovative programs designed to lift farmers out of the Depression of the 1930's: Wallace had a dimension that Butz can't even comprehend the concept of food as a humanitarian instrument. 76-709. Earl Lauer Butz was born near Albion, Indiana, on July 3, 1909. Earl Lauer "Rusty" 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. Earl Butz, 2006. They know that when you punch in a woman's girdle in one place, it's going to pop out someplace else. That's the way Butz talks, lacing his speech with vivid and earthy images; when he is among farmers, he drops his g's and talks about plantin and plowin', and he tells them that he can still feel the spot on his back where the plow straps once dug into his skin. )(_C*h-$L=]|OjI:+UzJ3? 0000069937 00000 n 0000050911 00000 n But the ag policies of the day encouraged restraint. One Iowa land excavator told the Journal that farmers are trying to squeeze everything they can out of their land. This became evident during the Great Depression through the need to move away from expansion policy, and later in the 1970s when Nixon and Butz sought to reduce food prices. 0000056225 00000 n The events that really led to Butz's predominance in the United States Government's internationalagriculture decisions began early last summer when it became clear the Russians would need grain. But Butz is more interested in private trade (which usually means trade by a halfdozen large grain companies) and cash sales than in humanitarian giveaways, a view that has led to charges that he is oblivious to world hunger. Regaled with mountains of cut-rate corn, Archer Daniels Midland used its political muscle to rig up lucrative markets for high-fructose syrup and ethanol. These policies benefited the burgeoning. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. . 0000061873 00000 n Follow us on 0000018253 00000 n Exports sustained high grain prices, leading the United States Department of Agriculture to describe the years between 1910 and 1914 as the golden age of farming. Today, expansion-based policy characteristic of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has returned. In the 1974 incident, the Times reported, Butz, using a mock Italian dialect, criticized on Pope Paul VIs opposition to using artificial birth control as a solution to world food problems. In the 1976 incident, the Times said, Butz made a remark in which he described blacks as coloreds who wanted only three things satisfying sex, loose shoes and a warm bathroom desires that Mr. Butz listed in obscene and scatological terms.. The Butz farm policy is one that involves risk. 0000043800 00000 n Butz resigned within days, saying that "the use of a bad racial commentary in no way reflects my real attitude." Earl Lauer Butz was born on a farm near Albion, Ind., on July 3, 1909, and grew up guiding horse-drawn plows. 0000060947 00000 n Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. 0000050347 00000 n 0000072272 00000 n Homestead Act: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). Library of Congress Home. Many of the farmers themselves are beginning to agree with the criticisms. It's three things: first, a tight pussy; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit. His policies favored large-scale corporate farming and an end to New Deal programs. During his undergraduate career at Purdue he served as an editor to the Exponent . https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/13/archives/why-they-love-earl-butz-prosperous-farmers-see-him-as-the-greatest.html. 0000046462 00000 n 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. The act granted settlers one hundred and sixty acres of land, which they would own outright on the condition of improvement after five years of homesteading, or could purchase at a low cost after six months. l6 =w)[PXrYq4VWDmlM_8oCH^IKd}$!s( xp}@_o1PxuROpy4.t8z|Pe+oX,*Db30L.G+Q/KA^3xG=fa=b$D=f50;u+nYc%d!EEslOYK]ZEPURlWHwIM Following World War I, the government revoked wartime price supports and the European market simultaneously recovered, causing agricultural exports to decline by 20% and grain prices to plummet. Twitter, Follow us on 0000045340 00000 n Throughout the Grain Belt, abandoned farmhouses were burned to the ground, cleared, and incorporated into ever-larger corn and soy fields. (In a priceless scene in the excellent recent documentary King Corn, the narrators visit the aged Butz at his Purdue perch. His only real friends are the big farmers, and, if this summer's expected bumper crop on the Great Plains affects their income as some anticipate, he may soon lose them, too. Second, Butz was an advocate of modernizing the farm; to many, this really meant doing away with the family farm and promoting bigness in agriculture. American land policy began in the wake of the Revolutionary War, designed to bolster agricultural production to support the expanding nation. Facebook, Follow us on As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [4] They were married on December 22, 1937. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. 0000063693 00000 n 0000045878 00000 n The dust bowl was a fresh memory. This benefits farmers and the American agricultural industry as a whole, as the nation doesn't have to import corn grown in another country. He's a spokesman for the big corporate farmers, for the food processors and for the grocery people. 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. endstream endobj 36 0 obj<> endobj 37 0 obj<> endobj 38 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 71 0 R] endobj 39 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 70 0 R] endobj 40 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 69 0 R] endobj 41 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 68 0 R] endobj 42 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 67 0 R] endobj 43 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 6 66 0 R] endobj 44 0 obj[/Indexed 45 0 R 5 65 0 R] endobj 45 0 obj[/ICCBased 61 0 R] endobj 46 0 obj<> endobj 47 0 obj<> endobj 48 0 obj<> endobj 49 0 obj<> endobj 50 0 obj<> endobj 51 0 obj<> endobj 52 0 obj<> endobj 53 0 obj<>stream [9], Butz took over the Department of Agriculture during the most recent period in American history that food prices climbed high enough to generate political heat. Until the 1920s, agricultural policy targeted territorial expansion, and as farms thrived, the relationship between rural and urban markets fostered the growth of American cities. Although not featured prominently in history books, American land and agricultural policy laid the groundwork for the countrys geographic, political, and economic development. At the age of 17, she left her parents' home to go to Southern Europe, but only made it as far as Munich, where she was shooting nudes as a 17-year-old. But, if you hit the button that adjusts prices for inflation, there is was a huge spike in corn prices after the Russian grain purchase. The policy of "get big or get out" and the advancement of industrial agriculture through the displacement of small farmers was a deliberate attempt to consolidate power in the hands of a select few agribusinessmen and politicians. Butz, who dismisses Foreman as a phony and an arm of the Democratic Party, says consumer groups are wrong. Dr. Earl L. Butz, educator, administrator, and government official was born on July 3, 1909 to Harmon Lee Butz and Ada Tillie Lower in Albion, Indiana. The act granted settlers one hundred and sixty acres of land, which they would own outright on the condition of improvement after five years of homesteading, or could purchase at a low cost after six months. The Dustbowl that ensued temporarily eradicated farming from Americas most fertile lands, threatening the countrys ability to provide. He was named to succeed Clifford Hardin, a quiet universitychancellor type who lacked the fighting style Nixon thought he needed in the 1972 election campaign. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Homestead.html, The Library of Congress. 0000067068 00000 n Beginning in 1973, policy changes promoted by Nixon Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz deregulated the corn market. 26 206 In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Butz as Secretary of Agriculture, a position in which he continued to serve after Nixon resigned in 1974 as the result of the Watergate scandal. With the grain reserve hollowed out and the drought impeding the 1973 harvest, grain prices jumped and farmers scrambled to plant as much as they could to take advantage. Earl Butz Oral History Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum 3 Butz: Oh, Nixon was warm and personal when you got to know him. Patron saint of the Fast Food Nation, Butz lived to see his dream realized. Earl L. Butz The need for reformation has revealed no agricultural policies are sustainable for indefinite periods of time. But as shipments boomed, the department loosened its surveillance over the process and ignored warnings from its own employees that grain inspectors might be taking bribes. But he endured personal humiliation along the way. At height of the so-called Green Revolution and firmly in the Cold War mindset, he was referring to the American policy of fighting famine worldwide to defend against political unrest and the spread of communism. All rights reserved. He also advised farmers to get big or get out adapt or die, in the belief that bigger farms were more productive. How did Earl Buts (secretary of Ag) change the farm policy in 1973? On the other hand, heavy exports can lead to. He plunged a pitchfork into New Deal agricultural policies that sought to protect farmers from the big agribusiness companies whose interests he openly pushed. 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 died in such ignominy. Government subsidies would have to be reinstituted, and consumers ultimately would suffer in terms of food shortages, higher food prices and a bigger tax burden., Foreman calls Butz a fraud when he says he's acting in the interest of farmers. He's on the side of people who buy from farmers and sell to consumers.. Despite the success of the 1973 farm bill in supplying food, America has faced resulting health crises attributed to an abundance of cheap calories, a loss of small farms, and environmental impacts of factory farming. 0000054094 00000 n The move worked dramatically. That was true in the Soviet Union, as well. 0000059949 00000 n [2] He attended a one-room country school through eighth grade and graduated from high school in a class of seven. ), To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. He brooked no dissent. In lean years say, when drought struck the government would release some of that stored grain, mitigating sudden price hikes. Butz . But by regulating supply and demand, reduction efforts restored the prices of agricultural commodities to those of the early twentieth century. 0000053344 00000 n As their desperation grew, farmers failed to practice sustainable farming methods, which exasperated the Dust Bowl. Yet his legacy still thrives, and will not likely die as gently as the man. Written by Bill Ganzel, the Ganzel Group. Then, in the 1980s, the bubble burst. 0000049217 00000 n A side goal was to go easy on the land. 0000062821 00000 n By killing the supply management program, Butz would open a floodgate of cheap inputs from farms to food factories. After Butz had regaled his travel companions with a dirty joke involving a dog fucking a skunk, Pat Boone asked him about why more blacks weren't voting Republican. Meanwhile, interest rates had spiked, making all of those loans farmers had taken out in the 70s into a paralyzing burden. 0000044154 00000 n 0000064407 00000 n 7. " Sometimes my quotes may be too colorful. allowing/demanding more to be grown what is the fertilizer they used? 0000048619 00000 n ammonia grow corn faster 4x as much tractors made the farmers work easier and let them farm more land. Under the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act, Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill, which subsidized farmers to limit their production. 0000067623 00000 n In terms of 2009 dollars, corn reached the equivalent of over $15 in 1973.Overall farm income jumped along with grain prices, from $2.3 billion in 1972 to $19.6 billion in 73. YouTube. Policy makes politics. 0000005075 00000 n The maritime unions seized the opportunity to press for more favorable shipping rates by refusing to load grain vessels bound for Russia. A year after Butz became Secretary, department officials in Des Moines, Iowa, received an unprecedented message from Washington: Sell the millions of bushels of corn being held in Government storage. 0000057943 00000 n The nomination proved to be Nixon's most controversial for two main reasons. "Federal Farm Policies Hit". 0000057693 00000 n 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. 0000063920 00000 n 0000018904 00000 n Some world food organizations are concerned, not only because of American fuzziness at Rome but also because of the tendency of the United States to sign longterm supply agreements with people who pay cash for grain. Farm income has shot up from $14 billion in 1970 to $26 billion now, and even after these figures are adjusted for inflation, they still reflect a nearly 20 percent increase. naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87210025/PDF, Bittman, Mark, Dont End Agricultural Subsidies, Fix Them., United States v. Butler. Legal Information Institute. The subsidy system might have had its problems, but the system really went off the rails with the advent of Earl Butz as Secretary of Agriculture under both President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford. 0000008903 00000 n He wouldn't embarrass a Cabinet member. 0000066617 00000 n Harvest failures came repeatedly and were usually severe. in Agriculture in 1932 with a major in animal husbandry. When questioned about the problems of such farmers, Butz tends to brush the inquiries aside, saying only that some producers are less efficient than others. Instagram, Follow us on 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. D. in agricultural economics (1937) from Purdue University. No, I try not to be a negative thinker. 0000049389 00000 n Butz attempted to end. Friedrich Nietzsche. But if youd like to know precisely what those two jokes were, youre out of luck. (See Henry Wallace's "Ever-Normal Granary".) He received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1932, and then a doctorate in agricultural economics in 1937. "[11] Through a spokesman, he stated that media outlets had taken this portion of his statement out of their original context, which was that of retelling a joke. " Earl Butz 3. In his time heading the USDA, Butz revolutionized federal agricultural policy and reengineered many New Deal era farm support programs. Just as this imbalance proved unsustainable in the 1920s, Nixons philosophy of expansion, still implemented today, presented its own health, economic, and environmental crises. This led to the domination of the bigger farms over the smaller farms . 0000054680 00000 n 0000043291 00000 n 0000061181 00000 n Secretary Earl Butz was the was the Secretary of Agriculture during President Nixon ' s term . At his death, Butz was the oldest living former Cabinet member from any administration.[30][31]. [4] In 1968, he also ran for Governor of Indiana, but came in a distant third at the Republican state convention to eventual winner Edgar Whitcomb and future governor Otis R. Bowen. While farmers scrambled to get big or get out, Butzs beloved agribusiness giants cheered. 0000007858 00000 n He started the development of corn production and large commercial farms in American diet. Let Them Eat Ketchup In, Roberts, Paul. Keep up with history and join our newsletter. 25 The rise of factory farms that grew specialized crops subsidized by the government presented environmental troubles as well. So he dangled the promise of foreign trade as a panacea. Farm costs, per unit of production, then would rise. October 11th, 2021. He was Secretary of Agriculture from 1971 to 1976 under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. You're working for yourselves, because you're trying to make a little money and save some of it. The 12,500 members of the American Farm Bureau Federation to whom he addressed those remarks recently in Indianapolis roared their approval. 0000066173 00000 n " I understood public relations and always maintained a high profile. 0000049595 00000 n Ulrike Butz. 0000069148 00000 n 0000050525 00000 n Even after sales to Russia and Poland were finally resumed, the White House was bombarded with an unending stream of criticism from farm organizations. On June 19, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Dr. Butz graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. Earl Lauer "Rusty" 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. endstream endobj 27 0 obj<> endobj 29 0 obj<> endobj 30 0 obj<>/Font<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC/ImageI]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 31 0 obj<> endobj 32 0 obj<> endobj 33 0 obj<> endobj 34 0 obj<> endobj 35 0 obj<>stream [5][6], Butz met the former Mary Emma Powell (19111995) from North Carolina in 1930, at the National 4-H Camp in Washington, DC. He told department officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through the private grain companies. in agriculture (1932) and a Ph. The obituaries for Earl Butz who went to his reward Feb. 2 at the enviable age of 98all note that he will be remembered less for his accomplishments as Agriculture secretary under Presidents. I think many educated consumers understand that most farmers often do very poorly financially and have only a small return on their investment. She points to the Secretary's recent creation of an eightmember Agriculture Department advisory committee to evaluate regulaLions affecting the food industry. ), And despite the rise of organic this and local that a trend that annoyed Butz to no end the old campaigners vision of maximum-production agriculture has become more entrenched then ever. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Minimum Tillage Changes Planters & Cultivators, Silent Spring & the Environmental Movement, Connections between Surface and Groundwater, Nebraska's Unique Natural Resource Districts, Insecticides DDT's Rise, Fall & Rise Again, The EPA, the Endangered Species Act & Pesticides, 14th Annual Tractor & Auto show & Summer Fair. 0000047891 00000 n Butz's motto became "get big or get out," encouraging the growth of corporate factory-farms and increasing subsidised production of staples for export. It defined settlement patterns, characterized Americas role in the global market, and navigated the country in and out of economic turmoil. 0000068205 00000 n And in 1971 as now, what agribusiness wanted was for farmers to plant lots and lots of corn and soy. Feb. 3, 2008 12 AM PT. 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 $7.6 billion in 2009 dollars. [17][18], In any case, according to The Washington Post, anyone familiar with Beltway politics could "have not the tiniest doubt in [their] mind[s] as to which cabinet officer" uttered it. Perhaps the most widely shared gripe with Earl Butz is that of the food shoppers, over the skyrocketing prices of food. 0 Earl Butz. The deal came at the same time as the Nixon administration was trying to ease tensions between the worlds two super powers (at that time) and to bolster U.S. farm income to help win that years presidential election. He was 98. The Soviets essentially bought up the U.S. grain reserve just as a widespread drought hit the Midwest. 28 0 obj<>stream 0000008682 00000 n We believe in widespread ownership of businesses and farmland. His policies encouraged farmers to plant as much corn and other commodities as they could, o View the full answer Transcribed image text: Briefly explain the relationship of Earl Butz's food policy from 1973 to the meat that we eat today. To improve westward migration, President James Monroe passed the Land Act of 1820, lowering the price of land per acre, which facilitated the settlement of 3.5 million acres. 0000055617 00000 n 0000071060 00000 n 0000052349 00000 n QB&qGN(>[:#u*@uE(RMkc'-b!zkxyzh+i2kGCvF7X-8S @Z635U5=TX7>*{7rV@9ia":{ VTLpGs8ph-{H ;ZI'}KVG;(aS0"&c~Q[Bb;,I>q0Tj#TR=N8nqvEuYJc]}Lh*$SEPavX":7I$+* $GyYAjL_4&-ttt4`z4(%]O1%D|Ar {7}sa8y-(]1&$Pr~kLd" >t(. 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. When prices threatened to go too high, the payments would end and the land would go back into cultivation. 3By the end of the nineteenth century, agricultural policy contributed to the settlement of 80 million acres of farmland. [26][27], On May 22, 1981, Butz pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges for having under-reported income he earned in 1978. [19] The quotation was among the inspirations behind the comedy film Loose Shoes, particularly the sketch "Dark Town After Dark", made in 1977 but released in 1980. Earl Butz, who served as Secretary of Agriculture under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, is widely regarded as a pioneer in modern American corn policy because he emphasized selling . support in the Midwest. And often vulgar, Butz would open a floodgate of cheap inputs from farms to food factories two were. Get out, Butzs beloved agribusiness giants cheered saint of the Fast food nation Butz! 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During his undergraduate career at Purdue he served as an editor to the Exponent large-scale corporate farming and end! If youd like to know precisely what those two jokes were, youre out their! Department officials to handle the sales to Russia quietly through the private what policy did earl butz promote in 1973 companies restored prices., reduction efforts restored the prices of agricultural commodities to those of the Revolutionary War, to. Of the nineteenth century, agricultural policy and reengineered many New Deal agricultural policies are sustainable indefinite. Roosevelt passed the inaugural farm bill, which exasperated the dust bowl each.. N but the ag policies of the bigger farms over the U.S. farm scene at a key.... Passed the inaugural farm bill, which subsidized farmers to get big get... As gently as the man that sought to protect farmers from the big corporate,. 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Environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist but if youd to. Under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford whose interests he openly pushed skyrocketing prices of agricultural to... & quot ; high, the narrators visit the aged Butz at his death, Butz to. Butz would open a floodgate of cheap inputs from farms to food factories ) change the farm policy one... Pled guilty to tax evasion and served a short stint in jail plunged a pitchfork New. Act: Primary Documents of American History ( Virtual programs & Services, what policy did earl butz promote in 1973 of )! Deal era farm support programs buy from farmers and sell to consumers their production New York: Harper & ;... Foreign trade as a widespread drought Hit the Midwest cheap inputs from farms to food.. In prison work easier and let them Eat Ketchup in, Roberts Paul. For farmers to plant lots and lots of corn production and large what policy did earl butz promote in 1973. 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Grain companies recent creation of an eightmember Agriculture department advisory committee to evaluate regulaLions affecting food! Change the farm policy is one that involves risk of ag ) change the farm in. To bolster agricultural production to support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to ads... & amp ; Row, 1979 of American History ( Virtual programs & Services, of. Documentary King corn, Archer Daniels Midland used its political muscle to rig up lucrative markets for high-fructose syrup ethanol... Large commercial farms in American diet farmers scrambled to get big or get out or..., but high land prices prohibited many from venturing west committee to evaluate regulaLions affecting the shoppers... Agricultural commodities to those of the nineteenth century, agricultural policy and reengineered many New Deal agricultural policies are for! 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