Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 119, Greencastle, Putnam County, 23 January 1991 — Page 6

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THE BANNERGRAPHIC January 23,1991

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Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz takes a bite out of an apple as he makes a point during his Jan. 17 speech before the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce. Butz lauded America as a nation of “risk-takers," noting that when he was a farm boy it took 30 minutes of

Americans eat cheaply because farmers willing to take risks: Butz

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor The greatest risk Americans face, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, says is we will quit taking risks. “The growing risk of risk-taking, and the drive for a safe environment,” Butz told the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce at its recent membership meeting at the DePauw Union Building, “may easily slow the level of opulence for all of us.” BECAUSE OF chemical and equipment advances in agriculture over the past few decades, Americans are able to feed themselves on just over 12 percent of their take-home pay, Butz said. However, modem agriculture cannot continue to produce adequate amounts of safe and wholesome food without chemicals or antibiotics, he said. “If we were seriously to curtail their use on farms and in the food industry,” Butz said, “we would immediately experience a decline in the quantity and overall quality of our food supply.” Consumers, he said, would quickly experience a rapid rise in food prices, which would subse-

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manpower to yield a bushel of corn. Now, he said, with better farm equipment and the advent of herbicides and other farm chemicals, it takes only 30 seconds of manpower to yield a bushel of corn. (Banner-Graphic photo by Eric Bernsee).

quently lead to Americans have much less to spend for all the others things that make up our way of life. “I WANT PURE food,” he acknowledged, “but I don’t want to spend 30 or 40 percent of my income to get it.” As long a there is a little proht in agri-business, America can meet the challenge of “keeping the plough ahead of the stork,” he said, cautioning against “going overboard in our hysteria to clean up the environment and make everything absolutely safe.” We must offset risk against benefit, he said. “We can go back to organic farming in this country if we must,” Butz reasoned. “We all farmed that way once know how to do it. However, before we more in that direction, someone must decide which 50 million of our people will starve. We simply cannot feed, even at subsistence levels, 250 million Americans without a large production input of chemicals, antibiotics and growth hormones.” Taking an apple from a bag next to the podium, Butz proceeded to

Dairy farmers to see lower prices in 1991

WASHINGTON (AP) With milk production rising, Agriculture Department economists say dairy farmers will see lower prices this year. “FARM MILK PRICES in 1991 are expected to fall 15 percent to 20 percent from last year’s record,” the department’s Economic Research Service said Tuesday. The war in the Persian Gulf is casting uncertainty on the outlook,

take big bite and show it to the oiiHipncp “OUR PROBLEM today,” he said, chewing the fruit, “is that twothirds of living Americans never have had the experience of biting into a wormy apple, seeing the worm hole and wondering, ‘ls he in there yet, or did I get him?’ “They think that God and nature made all apple good. He didn’t God put the worm in the apple; Man took it out. Man used deadly poison to eliminate the worm. He did it carefully, under scientifically prescribed rules. And as a consequence, you can’t buy a ‘bad apple’ in your town today.” Ecologists and environmentalists want us to “go back to nature,” the former Purdue University dean of agriculture said. “Now these characters want to put that worm back in my apple. I’ll be darned if I want him there. “I DON’T WANT TO go backwards, but I do want to be careful about it. I’ll take a little risk to enjoy these pleasures,” Butz said. He fears that taking the risk out of our society will take the taste out of the apple. “We’re a nation of risk-taker,” he said, “and I hope we always are.”

however, the agency said. “Currently, military procurement is not expected to disrupt dairy markets,” the report said. “Products destined for armed forces overseas probably will be purchased fairly steadily through normal commercial channels.” THE WAR’S EFFECT on general economic conditions may be much more important but are not now predictable, it added.

Wetland regulations focus on environment

By TIM YINGST Extension Agent-Ag With all the mail that reads, “You may have won 10 million” dollars or “Please buy our product,” it is difficult to sort out important mail somedays. A Purdue University specialist is concerned that some farmers may overlook an important letter from the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS). THE LETTER, WHICH will be mailed out to each farmer who has participated in farm programs, contains an aerial photograph of individual farms and a determination of any wetland that might be on the farms. The letter describes how a farmer can stay in compliance with wetland regulations, and what happens if compliance is not met, according to Bob Eddleman, state conservationist. Non-compliance can affect USDA program benefits and result in penalties ranging from $750 to SIO,OOO, according to SCS. According to Brian Miller, Purdue wildlife extension specialist, it is important for all fanners to know whether they have wetlands on their farms. In addition, farmers need to know what type of wetlands are on their farms, because the regulations vary with wetland classification. THERE ARE A total of five wetland classifications and a nonwetland (NW) classification. The five wetland classifications are Wetlands (W), farmed wetlands (FW), artificial wetlands (AW) and converted wetlands (CW), as well as prior converted croplands (PC). The letter from SCS, which is in the process of being mailed out, contains definitions of these five types of wetlands. Farmers not participating in USDA programs can receive a wetland determination by completing a form 1026 at their county ASCS office. For any land to be classified as a wetland, three criteria must exist: the site must have hydric (moist) soil; a predominance of wetlands vegetation (sedges, cattails, etc.), or be capable of supporting this vegetation; and wetland hydrology (ponded water and/or a saturated root zone for a minimum of seven days during the growing season). Converted wetlands are those wetlands manipulated after Dec. 23, 1985, while prior converted croplands are wetlands that were drained, filled or altered to a condition capable of and producing a commodity crop prior to Dec. 23, 1985. ACCORDING TO Miller, the 1990 Farm Bill has renewed an environmental commitment and reinforces the conservation provisions set forth by the 1985 Farm Bill. The 1985 Bill demonstrated public concern for the environment with a comprehensive conservation title that included the Conservation Reserve Program,

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farm

Tim Yingst

conservation compliance and “Swampbuster.” However, the 1990 Bill has added some flexibility for landowners in terms of mitigation. Swampbuster criteria now apply only to portions of land classified as wetland, farmed wetland or converted wetland. “If you drain, fill, clear trees, or otherwise alter wetlands or improve the drainage in a farmed wetland beyond the scope and effect of the original drainage, you will be subject to loss of USDA program benefits or penalties,” Miller said. Of the five types of wetlands, PC, AW and NW are all exempt from swampbuster provisions, Miller said. However, some PC can revert to wetland if abandoned. In addition, technical assistance and financial incentives to restore PC and FW remain available to landowners as a result of the 1990 Farm Bill. SECTION 404 OF the Federal Clean Water Act also imposes regulations to farmers. According to Miller, any time plans are made to place fill material in any water of the United Slates, including areas classified as wetland, farmed wetland or converted wetland, a permit must be obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This includes discharges of dredged or fill materials, along with other fill activities such as clearing, grading and leveling of materials. “The Corps makes the decision whether or not the permit is needed for the planned activity, if it will be granted and the conditions that might be attached,” said Miller. “However, while the Corps has full decision authority, public involvement in the permit process is required. The public, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, IDNR, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are often actively involved.” In addition to federal regulations, the State of Indiana also imposes regulations concerning wetlands and their use. According to Miller, any time plans arc made to do any construction, excavation or deposition in the floodway of a stream that has a drainage area of 640 acres or greater, a “Construction in a Floodway Permit” must be obtained from IDNR, Division of Water. This permit also is required if plans are made to construct a dam over 20 feet high or store more

than 100 acre feet of water above a dam of any height. “FARMERS NEED to remember that the SCS wetland determinations do not identify these floodway areas,” Miller said. “Therefore, the state could require a permit in these areas whenever plans are made to carry out projects going beyond normal farming operations, even if the activity is not subject to USDA or Section 404 regulations.” Miller also added that any time plans are made to do work in or adjacent to public freshwater lakes, an “Indiana Preservation of Lakes Permit,” also from IDNR, Division of Water, is required. Miller said both the federal and state regulations apply to several common farm situations, including: tile ditch maintenance and construction, open ditch maintenance and construction, land clearing, pond construction and aquaculture, and change in land use and excavation of any kind in a wetland area. None of the regulations specifically prohibits work in wetlands, but Miller said anyone with W, FW or CW on their property should take the time to check with their local SCS office and the appropriate Army Corps of Engineers District Office before beginning a project that might affect these wetlands. According to Miller, with proper management, landowners can get productive use out of their wetlands. “WETLANDS DO not have to be just wasted space,” Miller said. “They can become a valuable part of farm property.” Wetlands can be managed to provide both an environmental benefit, income and recreational opportunity. Several landowners have developed management plans that have enabled their wetlands to provide family recreation opportunities; income from hunting, camping, fishing, hiking, picnicing and aquaculture; wildlife habitats; areas for livestock watering; areas for filtering nutrient and sediment run-off from fields; and areas for septic tank and sewage treatment plan filtration. Miller said anyone interested in obtaining information about these practices, or wanting to find out about wetland programs included in the 1990 Farm Bill, should contact a Purdue Cooperative Extension Service county office or a SCS District Conservationist THE EXTENSION Service is working with SCS and other federal agencies to develop educational materials on wetland regulations. “In February, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and SCS will make every' attempt to see that farmers who get wetland determinations will also receive a publication explaining how regulations apply to individual farmers,” Miller said. Special USDA survey to plot ’9l harvest WASHINGTON (AP) The Agriculture Department is conducting a special survey to help get a fix on how much com, soybeans and other crops farmers will plant for the 1991 harvest. THE SURVEY IS being conducted the last two weeks of January by the department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The results will be released by the agency on Feb. 11. Charles Caudill, administrator of the agency, said the report will include the 1991 national acreage intentions for com, sorghum, soybeans, barley, durum wheat, other spring wheat, all rice, all cotton and all sunflower. The report also will show the proportion of farmers who intend to plant other oilseed crops such as canola, flaxseed and mustard seed. THE SURVEY WILL “provide producers with early indications of what acreage shifts might be expected in 1991,” he said.