Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 1 › Conversation 001-006

Nixon, Hardin & Gifford on Agricultural Extension Service

Tuesday, April 6, 1971 · 12:14 PM–12:17 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Hardin, Clifford M.; Gifford, Claude W.Conversation001-006 on Tape 1 (tape position 00:10:41–00:14:42)StartTuesday, April 6, 1971 at 12:14 PMEndTuesday, April 6, 1971 at 12:17 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Secretary of Agriculture Clifford M. Hardin to announce his decision to support the Agricultural Extension Service, effectively overruling the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staff and siding with the Secretary. Nixon emphasizes the political importance of the service to the American farm community and instructs Hardin to communicate this victory to the department. Additionally, the President speaks with Claude W. Gifford of the Farm Journal to personally encourage him to accept an appointment within the administration.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello?
Yes.
Terry Hardin.
Hi, Glenn?
Yes, Mr. President.
I, uh, just made a decision that I think will, uh, please you.
Good.
And, uh, I, uh, and as a result of it, I, uh, uh, know that you can now go out and, uh, and have a chance to sell our, uh, rural, uh, the extension service.
We, uh, we, uh, I made the decision that, uh,
We will follow your recommendation.
The maintenance of effort, you know, sort of whatever it is that is required.
I think you know what the...
The three senses that need to go in.
Yeah.
Well, I'm sorry I had to push the harvest.
Well, I understand.
I understand.
Well, as a matter of fact, John Connolly and I talked a little about it in California, because you know how strong he was about this and that.
And I just told him, I said, no, the Department of Agriculture will be tough enough, but the Extension Service, we just cannot...
cannot uh you know that damn thing is uh it's so part of the american uh ethic that we just can't uh screw it up so uh so we but i just want you to know that i uh i just told her like min schultz that's the way it's to be so it's not well thank you and when you hear it from them i just hope you carry it out but uh i i appreciate it i know you had to argue for it and
And you were right, and we pushed it out.
And you get the word to the people in the department that you and I chatted about the thing, and that I, frankly, this is a good idea to the farmers, that I overruled the OBM staff, and I stood for the Secretary of Agriculture.
Fair enough.
Yes, sir.
Say, Mr. President, there's a man I think you know in here with me now, Claude Gifford of the Farm Journal.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Well, if we don't one or the other of us stutter in the next 10 minutes, he's going to come to work with us.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Wonderful.
Listen, you don't stutter ever.
Uh-huh.
I try not to.
That's right.
That's right.
You're always fast with the words.
Well, he's a great, great guy.
Just don't mind.
Just delight it.
We'll be delighted to have him.
Would you say a word to him?
Sure I would.
Sure I would.
Put him right on.
I didn't raise this either, Claude.
That's right.
Hello.
Hello.
I just wanted you to know that Cliff had told me that he's trying to use his wiles to get you to come help us, and I couldn't endorse it more.
It would be a wonderful asset to the administration to have you with us.
We need not only your support, but more your know-how, you know your way around, you know the farm community, and it would just be a great help to us.
Well, I appreciate that very much.
And we look forward to working with you.
I just gave Cliff some good news he'll tell you about about the extension service, so that'll make your job a little easier.
All right.
Okay.
All right.
Tell the farmers not to give up on us.
It's going to come out all right.
I'm sure it will.
Yeah.
I'm sure it will.
All right.
Bye.
All right.
Bye.
Thank you.
Okay.
Bye.
Thank you, Mr. President.
You betcha.
You betcha.
Bye.
Well, this is a great day, Mr. President.
You go ahead now.
You work out the words, but I've made the general ruling.
I didn't read it.
I don't know how to adopt it.
I just said, all right, folks, look, we're going to do what you want on this thing, so let's work it out.
Well, the words are all prepared.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Clifford M. Hardin, and Claude W. Gifford talked on the telephone from 12:14 pm to 12:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 1-6

Date: April 6, 1971
Time: 12:14 pm - 12:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Clifford M. Hardin.

[See Conversation No. 475-4B]

     Agricultural Extension Service
          -President's decision
          -John B. Connally
          -John D. Ehrlichman
          -George P. Shultz
          -Office of Management and Budget [OMB] staff

     Claude W. Gifford
          -Appointment

The President talked with Gifford at an unknown time after 12:14 pm and before 12:17 pm.

[Conversation No. 1-6A]
[See Conversation No. 475-4C]

     Appointment
         -Benefits

The President talked with Hardin at an unknown time after 12:14 pm and before 12:17 pm.

[Conversation No. 1-6B]

[See Conversation No. 475-4D]

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/20/2017.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[001-006-w001]
[Duration: 24s]

     Clifford M. Hardin’s wife
           -Eye health

*****************************************************************

     Implementation of President's decision

Also recorded on April 6, 1971

  • 001-003 11:53 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 12:10 pm.
  • 001-004 11:53 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 12:10 pm.
  • 475-001 11:53 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 11:55 am.
  • 475-004 11:55 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Edward L. Morgan, Dana G. Mead, James McLane, John Gartland, John F. Evans, Jr., Edwin L. Harper, Raymond J. Waldeman, William F. Rhatican, Donald B. Rice, Donald E. Crabill, David Page, Roger Adkins, Richard P. Nathan, William Robinson, James Blum, Harry S. Havens and William Hamm, Wilfred H. Rommel, C. William Fischer, Naomi Sweeney, Richard K. Cook, John Russell Deane, III, Bill Fuller, Murray L. Weidenbaum, Robert Joss, William H. Johnson, Richard W. Velde, Jerry Copf, Charles J. Orlebeck, Henry Ahlgren, William W. Blunt, John P. Olsson, Malcolm R. Lovell, Jr., Christopher T. Cross, John R. Ottina, Ned Granlich, Larry Thompson, White House photographer, Peter Michel, Rainer Barzel, Rolf Pauls, and William Hamm met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:55 am and 12:20 pm.
  • 475-005 12:17 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:17 pm and 12:20 pm.
  • 475-006 12:20 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Don Wright, Rogers C. B. Morton, Ted Stevens, Fritz Behren, Leonard Garment, Bradley H. Patterson, Jr., Barbara ("Bobbie") (Greene) Kilberg, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:20 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 475-007 12:25 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:27 pm.
  • 476-001 12:27 PM · 9 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:27 pm and 8:59 pm.

All 59 conversations from April 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 001-006, April 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).