Remarks to Groups Interested in Improving Sales of Agricultural Products Abroad.

WELL, I want to welcome you all here to the White House, those of you who are foreign Agricultural Service attaches, and those of you who are producers or processors or sellers. Frank Roosevelt has been trying to sell me some polled herefords for about 3 years, so we are glad to have him here.

I am delighted to have all of you who are involved in a very important American industry essential to our well-being in a variety of ways. It involves about $11 billion a year, here in the domestic market, and we are particularly concerned about expanding our foreign markets. This brings us in about $350 million a year, which is an area in which we need a great deal of attention.

We are, as you know, in the Congress attempting to secure the passage of a new trade expansion bill which will give us additional tools to open up new markets. All of you who are attaches know some of the difficulties, some of the problems which we have in attempting to provide for an easy flow of our livestock produce to various countries, the kinds of restrictions which are placed on them, whether they involve fees, or quotas, sanitary provisions, or any others.

What we have to do is attempt, of course, to open up this market. So I want to tell those of you who are involved in this work abroad for the United States Government and the Department of Agriculture, how important your work is.

Agriculture is one of our best dollar earners. The balance of trade in our favor in agriculture we've sold abroad, at least to-for example, just to Europe, was about $1,900 million. We imported about $250 million. This was a tremendous source of dollars--and therefore gold--to this country at a very important time. So I want you to realize how important your work is. And when you work in this area you speak for this country, you speak for those who are involved in this vital industry. And I know that you are carrying on your work with a good deal of force and vigor, and we want you to know how much we appreciate it.

Everything you can do to open these markets up means not only a return to the producer, the grower, but also is a very important source of income to the United States in dollars. So I want you to know you are welcome here. We appreciate your being willing to go abroad and work for the Government. We appreciate the cooperation which this meeting shows between those who produce and those who distribute and those who sell abroad. I think it's an example of harmonious cooperation between agriculture and between the United States Government, in the best sense.

So you're welcome to the White House. And we'll be glad to graze a few cattle out here on the lawn!