"Project Safeguard"
“Project Safeguard,” designed
to help farmers in 14 southern
States—especially those on small
acreages—safely use chemical
alternatives to DDT this year,
was announced jointly by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
The new pesticide safety
program grows out of the EPA
order last June finally cancelling
most uses of DDT after
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Phone 717-653-5207
or 717-653-5208
December 31, 1972. The effective
date of the ban was delayed to
permit an orderly transition to
substitute pesticides, including
joint development of “Project
Safeguard” by the USDA and the
EPA
“Project Safeguard” is ex
pected to help over 170,000 far
mers control pests with greater
safety on small acreages of
cotton, soybeans, and peanuts
during 1973. The EPA can
cellation make illegal the use of
DDT on these crops. About 12
million pounds of DDT was ap
plied in the United States in 1970,
most of it on cotton
The 14 states involved in the
educational program are
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Missouri, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and
Virginia
Under Secretary of Agriculture
J. Phil Campbell and EPA
Assistant Administrator David
D. Dominick said the Federal
Government will work closely
with the State Extension Services
and other State agencies con
cerned with agriculture, public
health, and environmental
to Aid Shift to DDT Substitutes
protection in carrying out the
special project Private groups,
including the pesticide industry,
also will assist with the program.
The chemicals most likely to
replace DDT—such as the
organic phosphorus compounds—
degrade rapidly and do not ac
cumulate in the environment
over a long period of time
However, they are more
hazardous to the user and other
persons if not handled and ap
plied properly. The greatest
potential danger from some of
the more toxic alternatives is
poisoning through skin ab
sorption as a result of accidental
spillage of the liquid concentrate.
“Project Safeguard’’ will at
tempt to enlist the help of local
farm leaders who will be trained
as safety aides. These aides will
then make face-to-face contact
with their farm neighbors and
offer advice on the safe use of any
unfamiliar substitute pesticides
which may be required during
the 1973 growing season
The cooperation and assistance
of medical and hospital per
sonnel, pesticide dealers, and
chemical formulators and ap
plicators also will be sought for
the program All aspects of the
Lancaster Farming. Saturday. January 27.1973—1
project will be supported by
extensive use of appropriate
mass media—such as newspaper,
radio, and direct mailing—to
convey safe use information to
the farmer
The EPA is transfenng $750,000
to USDA to be used by the State
Cooperative Extension Services
to help support “Project
Safeguard ” State Extension
Service funds will provide an
additional $350,000 for the project
which will educate farmers not
reached by conventional
educational methods Both
agencies will make available
additional funds for education
and training phases of the project
as needed.
As further support for this
special project on the use of DDT
alternatives, State Extension
Services will continue to conduct
general pesticides education
through regular Extension
programs with farmers, for
mulators, applicators, and dealer
groups, as well as through mass
media
New pest management
techniques are currently under
study in various areas of the
country These integrated control
programs combine the use of
biological and other alternate
tools In most cases, such
programs will not be ready for
practical application to pest
problems during the 1973 growing
season
USDA Ends Two
Cxport Programs
The U S Department of
Agriculture announced recently
the termination of the export
payment program for chickens
and lard
This chicken program, which
was originally started in Sep
tember 1965, was designed to
enable U S exporters of chicken
to compete with subsidized ex
ports of chicken from foreign
suppliers - primarily the
European Community and
Denmark - in specified markets
abroad In recent years
payments have been made for
exports to Switzerland and
Greece to enable U S exporters
to regain their traditional shares
of the imports into these coun
tries
Under this program, payments
have been made for exports to
these markets on a weekly offer
and-acceptance basis
At the same time, the depart
ment announced termination of
the export payment program for
lard exported to the United
Kingdom
This program which was an
nounced on Dec 10, 1968, was
designed to enable U S exporters
of lard to compete in the U K
market with subsidized lard from
the European Community Since
Aug 11, 1969, payments of 1 cent
per pound have been made on
exports of lard from the United
States to the United Kingdom
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