Mr. GARDNER. There are some limited authorities in the conservation operations language for buildings and plant materials centers. Mr. PETER MYERS. We have authority, but I don't think we anticipate using any of that this year. Mr. MCHUGH. Mr. Watkins, the staff advises that that is authorization language but that the money, in fact, is not necessarily spent for that. The language that the money applies to cover a variety of things including that authority. Mr. WATKINS. I was curious about why you would have some airplanes unless you have spray airplanes of some kind. Mr. PETER MYERS. No, that is the last headache we need. Mr. WATKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. MCHUGH. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Mr. Hightower and Mr. Robinson, who could not be here today, have submitted questions that they would like to have answered for the record. [The information follows:] CONSERVATION REQUIREMENTS ON SET-ASIDE ACRES Mr. HIGHTOWER. I am sure that you are aware of the problems which were caused by the late announcement of changes in the conservation requirements on set-aside acreage for the 1984 farm programs. Could you tell us what caused the change in involvement between ASCS and SCS from last year? RESPONSE. Over 12.5 million set-aside acres in 1983 had a greater rate of erosion than what would have occurred if the crop had been planted. SCS was asked to assist ASCS in improving the conservation aspects of farm programs to avoid this situation in 1984. No change was made in the program's basic conservation requirements, only the implementation and achievement is being strengthened. Mr. HIGHTOWER. Are we to expect a similar development next year, and in future years, of conservation requirements for farm programs which are very inflexible and hard to administer locally, being developed at the national level? RESPONSE. The law authorizing production adjustment requires the Secretary to assure lands taken out of production will be protected from wind and water erosion. The decision as to what conservation activity will meet the national requirement is determined within each State. The general effect is that a producer must manage the previous crop residues or volunteer growth to adequately control excessive wind and water erosion. If the farmers cropping or tillage operations do not leave a residue, a cover crop would be necessary on erosive soils. This year, for the dryland crop acres taken out of production in the arid areas of the county, tillage practices that reduce erodibility may be used in lieu of cover crops. Mr. HIGHTOWER. Don't you think that it is difficult for the national office to write guidelines which can be applied to over 3,000 counties which represent a vast array of different soil, rainfall, and farming techniques; without the input and control of the local county ASCS committees which have firsthand knowledge of local needs? RESPONSE. Yes, it is difficult, that is the reason specific local guidelines are not written at the national level. The national requirement is to control excessive wind and water erosion on acres taken out of production. What specific conservation activities that will meet this national requirement is decided within each State based on locally developed technical guides. This flexibility was necessary in order to take into account the different soils, climate, and topography situations that exist throughout the nation. Mr. HIGHTOWER. Why were the recent changes in the conservation requirements, which were made by Secretary Block on February 17, not included in the USDA press release of that date? RESPONSE. Tillage was allowed in place of cover crops only in arid portion of the country. This adjustment was needed because a spring planted cover crop would not achieve adequate growth to prevent wind erosion damage during the spring wind erosion season. A nation wide press release about a regional adjustment would not have been appropriate. CRITICAL RESOURCE PROBLEM AREAS Mr. HIGHTOWER. Could you provide a list of what SCS considers the critical resource problem areas? RESPONSE. Resource inventory data shows that critical resource problems exist in parts of about 1,800 counties nationwide. We do not have a list of the exact counties involved, but we do know that about 157 million acres of the national total of 413 million acres of cropland are eroding at rates greater than that of soil formation by natural processes. Increasing water demands for nonagricultural uses could limit production on the 62 million acres of irrigated cropland. In fiscal year 1985, SCS will be targeting $40.6 million to provide accelerated technical assistance in 917 counties with critical erosion and water conservation problems. Maps showing the location of these counties are provided for the record. [The information follows:] |