Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 2,1980
USDA poll
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Results of a national survey
of the public's attitudes on
several major agricultural
'ssues, including con
servation of sod, water and
.'elated resources, were
released on January 17 by M.
Rupert Cutler, assistant
secretary of agriculture for
natural resources and en
vironment.
“The survey revealed that
Host American people
seheve more sod and water
.onservation is needed and
ire committed to a con
servation ethic,” Cutler
said. “A majority also
avors a public and private
jartnership to resolve sod
md water problems.”
Louis Harris and
Associates, Inc., interviewed
/,010 adults-representmg a
cross section of the nation’s
copulation—during the
survey, conducted between
Dct. 19 and Nov. 21,1979.
“We conducted the survey
.o assess the public’s
opinions, attitudes and
understanding of soil and
water conservation
problems and practices,”
Cutler said, “We will use the
findings to help design future
USDA soil and water con
servation programs.” Other
questions sought public
opinion on such issues as
gasohol, small farms and
priorities in land use.
White Heaters offer
CLEAN,
ECONOMICAL
HEATFOR
FARMSHOPS
MYER S PROPANE GAS SERVICE, INC.
1 f&OSSL wk
says people
Some of the survey’s
major findings are;
-half of all Americans
consider misuse of our sod
and water resources a
senousproblem.
-53% consider the loss of
good farmland a serious
problem.
-people see conservation
as a jomt public and private
responsibility and feel the
burden should be shared
fairly between government
and farmer or other lan
downer.
-by 7 to 1, Americans
accept federal action to
protect farmland from
erosion as a proper role for
government.
-Americans support the
concept of small, family
farms and federal policies
aimed at preserving and
increasing them. However,
people understand that most
of the food grown m this
country is produced on large
farms.
-the public consistently
indicated a preference for
allocating a greater share of
soil and water resources to
agnculture-specificially to
food production-rather than
to competing housing, in
dustrial, energy or
recreation uses.
-more than eight of 10
Americans are rated
moderate-to-high on a
conservation ethic scale,
believing conservation is
important for the country.
Solve those odor problems and cut
the costs of heating your farmshop
with a White Heater
White Heaters are clean burning
gas heaters There are no odors or
irntafed eyes caused by oil space
healers You work in complete com
fort
And White Heaters are safe for
farmshops like yours They meet
fire and emission standards for ven
tilated buildings
With a White Heater you save
money in fuel, maintenance and in
purchasing
Compare fuel bills from a White
direct-fired heater to other gas
heaters You'll find savings of about
20%
Maintenance costs are also
lower There are no heat exchan
gers to clog, no nozzle to foul
Shop around and compare gas
heater prices You II be surprised A
White Heater can save you 33% to
50% in price alone
P.O. Box 71
Manheim, PA 17545
Phone: (717) 665-3588
DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME
believe in conservation
-more than three-fourths
of Americans feel we have
not reached the point in soil
and water conservation
efforts where we should be
more concerned about
holding down costs than
completing the work that
remains to be done.
-by more than 2 to 1, the
American public says
gasohol should receive more
government support than
synthethic fuels. In head-to
head choices, gasohol is seen
as more likely than synthetic
fuels to reduce oil imports,
keep down gasoline costs
and less likely to damage the
land.
-Americans value highly
citizen participation in
federal decision making,
even though their reported
participation is rather low
(33%). A large proportion
value the ability to have a
say m decision making. They
would participate more, they
say, if they felt the effects of
government decisions were
more direct or if they felt
they were truly being heard.
While 21 percent say they
would participate much
more if the government were
to help pay the cost of their
participation, twice that
number (44%) say govern
ment financial help would
not increase their par
ticipation.
-a substantial majority of
the public feels government
should provide loans to
Come in and see
us Well
show you
how to heat
clean and
save
money
people trying to get started
in farming.
“The survey is one of the
public participation ac
tivities undertaken m the
development of the future
USDA program for con
serving soil and water
resources,” Cutler said.
“This effort is a response to
the Soil and Water Con
servation Resources Con
servation Act of 1977 (RCA),
P.L. 95-192.”
Cutler said the USDA’s
Soil Conservation Service
commissioned the survey on
behalf of the USDA and the
RCA Coordinating Com
mittee. Later this month
USDA will release drafts of
proposed conservation
objectives and program
strategies for conserving soil
and water resources. At that
time the public will have the
opportunity to comment on
the various proposals.
About one-fourth of our
nation’s farms, or roughly
600,000, produce nearly 80
percent of our food and fiber,
with the largest 200,000
farms already producing
half the agricultural supply.
start the new year
with a bang!
DYNAMITE^
9 3%
&
Deposit your money in a
savings account here and look forward to a
lucrative year! We offer the highest bank
interest rate permitted by law. Ask
about our many financial services.
IDE FARMERS NATIONAL BANK
OF QUARRYVILLE
SMALL ENOUGH TO KNOW YOU...
LARGE ENOUGH TO SERVE YOU
TWO CONVENIENT SOUTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY LOCATIONS
PHONE (717) 786-7337
QUARRYVILLE
An Equal Opportunity Lender
ATTENTION
FARMERS...
FREE
ESTIMATES
ON RODENT
CONTROL
RODENTS carry diseases which
can endanger the health of your
flocks. Your business is raising
the flocks. Ours is protecting
them.
Since 1928
Pest control is too important
to trust to anyone else
SAVI
ACCO
" * if r
Member F D I C
1278 Loop Rd.
Lancaster, Pa. 17604
717-397-3721
PENN HILL
Each Account Insured to $40,000