Banner Graphic, Volume 19, Number 173, Greencastle, Putnam County, 29 March 1989 — Page 14

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THE BANNERGRAPHIC March 29,1989

Conservation plan updates USDA priorities

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has just released a 10-year update of the National Conservation Program, designed to guide USDA soil and water conservation activities through 1997. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Peter C. Myers said the program lays the groundwork for increased coordination among the eight USDA agencies involved with the soil and water conservation activities and with the farm community. “TOP PRIORITIES will be reducing soil erosion, especially on highly erodible cropland and protecting water quality and quantity,” Myers said. “Setting national conservation priorities was a new idea when we adopted the first National Conservation Program in 1982, and it has made our programs much more effective.” Other major goals, said Myers, will be strengthening the conservation partnership with state and local agencies and other local groups, and increasing the consistency and cost-effectiveness of USDA programs. George S. Dunlop, USDA assistant secretary for natural resources and environment, said the program was developed in response to the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 to guide USDA’s soil and water conservation activities on non-federal land. THE PROGRAM IS updated periodically to assure that USDA’s soil and water conservation programs are responsive to the nation’s long-term needs. According to Robert L. Eddleman, state conservationist for USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in Indiana, the update, titled “A National Program for Soil and Water Conservation: the 1988-97 Update,” is the first since 1982. It responds to the changing conditions in world demand and agricultural production, new technology and crop supplies. USDA agencies involved in conservation activities are the Agricultural Research Service, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Economic Research Service, Cooperative State Research Service, Extension Service, Farmers Home Administration, Forest Service and SCS. Eddleman said that partnership is the key to the success of the new program. “USDA conservation programs are voluntary, within the context of the 1985 Food Security Act, which this program fully supports,” he said. “Our role is to provide information and technical help to land-users as they exercise private property rights and meet stewardship responsibilities to conserve and protect soil and water resources.” PUTNAM COUNTY Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in cooperation with the SCS and Forest Service have assis-

Farmers advised to be wary of easier credit

By DON KENDALL AP Farm Writer WASHINGTON (AP) An improving economy and a surge of federal relief measures have put easy credit back within reach of farmers, but an Agriculture Department economist says yielding to temptation could be hazardous to the financial health of some of them. “FARMERS HAVE reasons to be optimistic,” says Gregory Gajewski of the department’s Economic Research Service. “The burdensome grain stocks are dropping and commodity prices are strong in the face of rising domestic and foreign demand.” Gajewski cites rising land values after years of declines “and bankers’ willingness to lend” as

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$88.7 million in Hoosier drought aid INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - ndiana farmers received more than $88.7 million in federal drought aid after last summer’s dry spell. NEW FIGURES compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Indiana ranks ninth in the amount of emergency assistance received because of crop and livestock feed losses. Nationwide, farmers received $2.7 billion through Feb. 28. The deadline for filing claims is Friday. Officials believe that most fanners have filed for aid if they qualify. An Agriculture Department official estimated that about 70 percent of the claims have been filed.

ted landowners to enroll 5,800 acres of highly erodible cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program. This will reduce soil erosion to a minimum on these acres. Conservation Plans have been written on 67 percent of the highly erodible cropland by producers and owners in Putnam County. When these plans are implemented after 1990, soil erosion on cropland will be reduced from 30 percent to 90 percent, depending on the plans selected. This presents a major step for producers and landowners of Putnam County in conserving and protecting their soil and water resources. The document reflects extensive comments and concerns expressed by the public, state agencies, conservation districts and groups who responded to the draft plan released last year. Respondents approved of establishing erosion reduction and water quality as USDA’s top conservation priorities. OTHER TOPICS most frequently referred to by respondents included USDA’s plans for providing assistance for state and local priorities; linking USDA benefits to conservation goals; increasing research on low-input, sustainable farming methods; and developing practical conservation alternatives for small-scale; limited-resource and minority producers. In establishing priorities, USDA also considered changes in resource conditions, the economy and national policies of Congress and the administration. Copies of the report are available from local USDA agency offices or by writing the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250.

reflections of farmers’ improved outlook. “But the current optimism is tempered by the knowledge that the U.S. and foreign farmers still have the capacity to produce large crops and large volumes of livestock products that could exert downward pressure on agricultural prices and land values,” he added. THE USDA ANALYST, writing in the April issue of Agricultural Outlook magazine, said that when the drought hit last summer many farmers needed more credit to cover expenses and gear up for the next season. “Bankers are Often accused of deserting farmers when times get tough, but this apparently did not happen during and after the drought,” Gajewski said.

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Little Jonathan Barber may have his bib overalls on for Ag Day, but he’s a little shy of putting the pedal to the metal in navigating a toy John Deere tractor during the recent MiniFarm Fest at the Putnam County Fairgrounds. North

Market reports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Estimated prices Tuesday at Indianapolis area elevators: Corn No. 2 yellow: $2.472.62, new $2.30-2.42. Oats No. 1 sound: $2.45. Soybeans No. 1 yellow: $7.45-7.60, new $6.95-7.17. Wheat No. 2 soft red: $3.95, July $3.62-3.79. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Hogs 600. Barrows and gilts moderately active 1.00 lower. US 1-3 225-260 lbs 39.5040.00. US 2-3 230-265 lbs 39.00-39.50; 2-4 275 lbs 37.50. Sows: Moderately active to steady. US 1-3 500-675 lbs 34.00-38.00. Boars: Over 400 lbs 30.00. Cattle: 1000. Slaughter steers and heifers unevenly steady to 50 lower with decline on mix select and choice and select grade. Cows 1.00-1.50 higher. Bulls not well tested. Select and choice slaughter steers 35 percent heifers and 10 percent cows. Slaughter Steers: Choice 24 975-1300 lbs 75.00-77.00. Two lots at 77.25. Few mixed

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Putnam FFA member Sam Fry, however, provided a steadying hand and a little push for the 1 1 /2-year-old son of Rev. Alan and Diane Barber, 1900 Wildwood Drive, Greencastle. (Banner-Graphic photo by Eric Bernsee).

select and choice 2-4 11001275 lbs 74.75-75.50. Holsteins: Choice 3 12.7514.75 lbs 71.00-73.75. Mixed select and choice 2-3 11001350 lbs 67.00-69.75. Package select 2-3 1150 lbs 65.00. Slaughter Heifers: Choice 2-4 975-1175 lbs 74.25-75.75. Package at 76.75. Mixed select and choice 2-4 875-1100 lbs 71.00-74.50. Slaughter Cows: Utility and commercial 2-4 46.25-52.25. High dressing 52.25-55.25. Cutter 1-2 43.00-49.00. Slaughter Bulls: Few yield grade 1-2 1400-2175 lbs 57.0067.50. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana direct hog market at 70 yards and markets Tuesday. Barrows and gilts: 50 to 1.00 lower. Demand moderate to light. US 1-2 220-250 lbs 37.75-38.50, some to 39.00, 210-220 36.50-38.00. US 1-3 210-260 lbs 36.50-38.25. Sows: Steady to 1.00 lower. US 1-3 300-500 lbs 28.0029.00 some 30.00 early, 500650 lbs 31.00-33.00 a few at 34.00.

Farmers not feeling their oats even as grain market soars

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Gregg Biggins never gave up on oats. Even when prices were low and other farmers thought about switching, Biggins stuck with oats. “Oats is a great crop.” “It doesn’t need the chemicals or the work that a row crop does. It’s nice to be able to have a straw crop to rotate. All this about oats being good for cholesterol is going to do a lot of good for the oats industry.” “All this” is the fact that oat bran, the husk of the kernel, can help reduce cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. So far, though, it’s been cereal makers and consumers who have reaped the benefits; farmers are suffering. , THE NATION RAISED more oats under Abraham Lincoln than under Ronald Reagan, said Keith Carlson of the American Oat Association. “It’s kind of ironic that production has been declining while the demand ... is increasing.” U.S. oat production plummeted by 42 percent last year to 219 million bushels, the smallest crop on record. In South Dakota, the leading oat state in 1987, production dropped 62 percent last year to 20 million bushels. The summer’s drought was one factor, but farmers say government programs that favored other crops also were to blame. “It’s a real shame. There just has

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not been any money in oats. You have to get paid for something to want to grow it,” said Biggins, of Gregory. “THE PRICES GOT SO bad, I just felt like I had been betrayed,” said Milt Lakness, of Hayti. “I’m a fan of the oat. I was tickled to think I was raising something that was going into Americans’ breakfasts.” Some farmers are skeptical about the oat revival, said Dale Reeves, an oat researcher at South Dakota State University. “There’s a lot of hesitation to get back into oats. You’d think they’d be clamoring to get back in now.” Lakness said he’s heard about the oat-bran craze, and is eating more oatmeal himself these days to lower his cholesterol. But he’s not ready to stake his financial future on the hope of a resurgence. “I’LL PLANT OATS THIS year, but I’m not going to plant very much,” he said. “They talk about all this interest in oats, but if you could make more money on other crops, would you plant oats? The arithmetic is just not there.” Deon Stuthman, an oat researcher at the University of Minnesota and chairman of the National Oat Improvement Council, thinks Congress may go even further. “People in a lot of different areas are embarrassed that the United States will be importing 70 million bushels of oats this year.”

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