P44jnc>»Hr Farming, Saturday, March 131993 Most Farmers Likely To Comply With Provisions WASHINGTON. D.C. American Farmland Trust report ed that a nationwide survey of fanners with conservation compli ance plans shows the majority (S 3 percent) expected to have com pleted most of their implementa tion work by the start of this year, two years ahead of the 199 S dead line. AFT said the survey also found most producers believe soil ero sion will decrease and their earn ings will remain the same or rise as a result of their plans. In addi tion, it noted that most farmers be lieve that those who do not imple ment their plans will be discover ed and have their farm program benefits eliminated. AFT, a national farmland con servation group based in Wash ington, D.C., characterized its findings as encouraging. “The sur vey results show that the conser vation provisions of the 1985 Farm Bill are working,” said AFT President Ralph E. Grossi. “They demonstrate that the idea of con servation compliance has been broadly accepted in the farming community. “While we’re gratified, we also recognize that nearly half (47 per cent) of the surveyed farmers indi cate they will not fully implement their plans until this year or next. It also appears as many as 14 per cent of producers do not intend to implement their plans at all. We believe the USDA must do what ever is necessary to ensure all plans are fully and satisfactorily implemented.” Grossi called on the Clinton Administration to establish a pub lic-private task force of producers, USDA representatives, and con servationists to determine what steps must be taken to ensure full compliance. “While our results in dicate that many of the non-start ers may have had plans that do not require much effort before 1993 or 1994 and others may be confused about when to begin, we still are concerned that we have such a large number of non-compliers this close to the 1995 deadline.” Under the 1985 Farm Bill, pro ducers with highly erodible farm land must completely implement conservation compliance plans by Jan. 1,1995 to remain eligible for federal farm program payments. Through 1991, more than 1.2 mil lion farmers had written conserva tion plans for 135 million acres. An additional six million acres re quiring another 200,000 plans were added in 1992. AFT actively participated in the development of the conservation title of the 1985 Farm Bill. Con servation compliance was one of the bill’s key provisions. AFT has consistently worked to link farm program benefits to good steward ship of the land and undertook the survey to see how well the compli ance provisions are being imple mented. Through its newly creat ed Center for Agriculture in the Environment, AFT contracted with J. Dixon Esseks, professor of public administration at Northern Illinois University, and Steven E. Kraft, professor of agribusiness economics at Southern Illinois University, for the survey. Their past research has focused on soil conservation and other natural re source issues. The two professors surveyed some 1,000 fanners in 100 coun ties in 32 states. Names were drawn randomly from a list of all producers with conservation com pliance plans. Virtually all were farmer operators with highly erod ible tracts of land. The survey, which showed no regional bias, consisted of telephone interviews averaging 18 minutes. Nearly 80 percent of the sampled farmers re sponded to the survey, which took place from Aug. 29 to Nov. 15, 1992. Subsequently, their respon ses were cross-checked for accur acy. patz - The Only Manufacturer Of Augers And Chain That Feature 0. Silo . Unloaders To Fit Your Price And dr css Dual-auger surface-dr silo unloader with Patz quality Both silo unioaders have a double hook gathering chain with hardened steel cutters and claws that cut through frozen and packed silage. Cedar Crest Equipment Two Convenient Locations M /I¥\ AFT said the survey uncovered these additional findings: • Compliance plans tend to be complex (Three or more practices) and represent a substantial portion of producers’ farmland. Most common practices are, in order, residue management, crop rota tions, grassed waterways, contour farming and terraces. • The majority of farmers (71 percent) do not want to change their plans. Those who do have added new land or found practices too difficult or uneconomical. Re sidue management has created the strongest dissatisfaction. • Farmers are fairly optimistic about the financial impact of then plans. One-third anticipate in creased earnings, 39 percent anti cipate no change in earnings, and MILK. UDOESA BODY good: 608 Evergreen Rd. Lebanon, PA 17042 (717) 270-6600 only one-fifth expect to lose mon ey. Those producers with most of their plan implementation efforts completed are more likely to ex pect to make or at least not to lose money. • Most farmers think producers who do not enact their plans will be caught and have their eligibility for benefits cut off. But the vast majority 86 percent believe producers in their county will ful ly implement their plans by Jan uary 1995. • Most producers think soil ero sion in their counties will decrease as a result of their compliance plans. • Most producers consider the Soil Conservation Service the best source for technical assistance. Performance Needs Patz Model 8820 Ring-drive, dual- auger silo unloader Dual-auger center-drive silo unloader with Patz quality 98C SURFACE-DRIVE SILO UNLOADER RD 2 BOX 271 East Earl, PA 17519 (717) 354-0584
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