It is difficult to stabilize or raise the prices of a perishable product like hogs by storage programs such as those that have been used for durable products like grain and cotton. Direct payments to make up the difference between free-market prices and the "support" level appear more promising for this purpose.

The Canadian government, for example, gave up its price-support programs for perishable farm products early in 1960 and initiated direct-payment programs instead. The payments for hogs were limited to 100 head of grades A and B hogs per producer.

This report includes estimates of the effects and costs of three different kinds of direct payment programs for hogs that might be developed in the United States to attain alternative economic objectives. It draws upon the Canadian experience at several points but covers a much wider range of alternatives.