Soil
Farm
(Eiitcr't Note: Thij it the
ceend in tori of lix r
tides in the Observer form
section 0.1 fie Union County
Agriculture Stabiliiatisn end
Conservation e.'fice and the
five federal farm programs
administered by the office.
The following article Is devot
ed to the Soil Bank.)
,.. By BILL BEBOUT
Observer Staff Writer
The plight of the American
farmer is a national problem.
1 ' Virtually every citizen is affected
to some decree.
The federal government has
, moved more and more into the
i Agricultural picture since the
i mid-thirties the turning point
cn the American Jurm scene.
! Confronted with constantly
I mounting surpluses, the V. S. De
J partment of Agriculture (L'iiDA)
. hus formulated programs with
i the help of the farmers to bols-
J ter sagging markets and keep the
J farmer on an even keel.
These programs are financed by
t taxes.
i The farm programs of the De-
1 partment of Agriculture are the
"f targets of tax conscious citizens.
j politicians, and the farmers
t themselves. This in itself is not
5 surprising. Most publically sup
I ported programs leave much to
1 ; ... I -...I .U. f
oc uesireu unu intr luim hiu
grams are no exception.
Ulirerem views
But no simple so'ution has been
found to satisfy all elements in
volved in the struggle to keep
the farmer on an economically
sound basis.
Both major political parties
have differing views on how
farm programs should be ad
ministered and paid f 'r. Farm or
ganizations present plans to the
administration' for improvement
in the programs and county com
miUces o.' the Agriculture Stab
ilization and Conservation (ASC)
offices make recommendations.
From all of these diverse.
and cften diametrically opposed
elements, the farm programs are
formulated.
In 1950" Secretary of Agricul
ture Ezra Taft Benson put into
operation a plan designed to con
serve usuaule larm land and at
the same time reduce surpluses.
Too M'ny Acres
The Soil Bank program is a con
servation reserve administered
throughout the . nation by 'he
ASC, its community and county
committees and staff members.
SThe 1060 Scil Bank Conserva
tion Reserve has been "oversub
scribed," according to figures re
II leased Wednesday by the Nation
j, al Association of Conservation
8 Districts.
Nearly 103.000 landowners have
filed applications with the De
partment of Agriculture to put 9.6
million acres in the reserve next
year. The conservation associa
tion predicts that a good share
of those applications will have to
be turned down.
When the sign up began last
summer, USDA estimated 5.1
. million new acres could be tak-
en. Now it appears this early es
timate was too low.
Union County Share
There are 7.039 acres in the
Soil Bank in Union County this
year. The cost to the federal gov-
W '.ft..! -c'';J r-'ir v
7'- ,3.W'r' 1 ' --'
,; "i.
"r V ,' v-1
4
ENTIRE
Leo Neiderer. Summerville, is one of the Unioa County
farmers who have put entire farms in the Conservation
Reserve of the Soil Bank. Permanent cover of grass and
legumes cover the farmland which once contributed
Bank Program Cuts County
Crops; Conserves
Mn:ntnt for aim
edtreU cost-share
expenses will
oul $131,U:1 29.
Of the 50 I'nion Ccuntv farms.
i7 of (hem are whde farms. Ten i
nore whole farms wit:i an annual,
jayment total of $14 626 is
iccted by the local ASC office
for I960.
The overate annual payment
ier acre in this county is $17.
ach farm is evaluated on the
vasis of production, typography
" " & I'i-.UltS LI '
SC county ctmmittee when ap-
jlicatton for the Soil Bank is
lade by the farmer.
For putting his whole farm in
.he Soil Bank, the farmer is
,ranted an additional 10 per cent
jf his established rate.
Farrr.er Bids
When the rate is established
:nd approved by the county com
mittee, the farmer submits a bid
based on his rate. The purpose
of the bid is to enable the gov
ernment to get as much land
in the Soil Bank -as possible for
the least amount of money.
Federal Soil Bank funds are
jilocated to each state with state
funds in turn divided among the
counties according to priority
(number of farmers who under
bid their established rate.)
Bids are divided into eight
classificatkns at the county lev
el. Tn group one are those who
bid 70 per cent below the estab
lished rate; group two consists of
farmers who bid 70 to 73 per cent
below their rate and so on until
the eight categories are estab
lished. Offers are then made by the
county committee to farmers be
ginning with group one until
funds are depleted.
Must Comply
The farmer is given 10 days in
which to accept or reject the of
fer. If he decides agaiast a con
tract, the offer goes to the next
lowest bidder. Contracts arc
made for three to 10 years.
A farmer who accepts a con
tract must agree to carry out con
servation practices on his farm
jTte must either plant permanent
gius or legumes or trees, or
build fish ponds, marshlands or
wildlife cover.
These practices, including the
control of noxious weeds, must
I be continued for thejife of the
contracr'
The farmer is not 'allowed to
raise any crops. He may, how
ever, plant a garden for home
use. . .
Shares in Cost
The federal government shares
in the cost of the conservation
practices ' on a pre-determined
cost-share ratio.
The farmer is not allowed to
permit grazing or harvesting on
the land in the Soil Bank. Viola
tions can result in loss of annu
al payments, fines and loss of
crntract.
Staff members of the ASC of -
fice make their periodic checks
on farms
sure that
in the county to be
conservation practices
are being carried out and other
stipulations of the contract are
being fulfilled.
If weeds have gone to seed or
cattle are grazing on Soil Bank
A
71
FARM IN CONSERVATION
payments anJiIand, tne otliee declaies an "m'.heck is made by tne A .Si ouiee
uitaieu uoiaiuii.
Penalties Assessed
Indicated violations are
brought before the county com
mittee which determines if no-
Latiuns are accidental or inten
tional and what penalties, if any,
are I3 bo assessed.
1
t......1t,'... ..:.,1..ti..n U..
as severe as the forfeiture if lOtfi
oer cent of ann'jal Davirtcnt itlus
... ,.r.iii;.,..i n .... -...
,1 iiuimiuiwi U ..in. v un
terminated if inten-l
"-
.wiivi iiv.otiuiia m t- iviiitiiuivu
n two consecutive years. j
There have been no intention-'
al violations in Union County, ac
cording to Lloyd German, man
agcr of the county ASC office. He
said that most indicated viola
tions resulted from accidental
grazing or failure to control nox
ious weed;. C':unty farmers have
cooperated with the county com
mittee and ASC office in elimi
nating the violations, German
said.
No new cropland can be brok
en out during the term of the
Soil Bank contract and land must
have been in use since Dec. 31,
1956 in order to be eligible for
the 19,)9 contracts.
Ending Contract
Cropland mast have been in
production during 1958 and the
current year to be eligible for
10 Soil Bank contracts.
Soil Bank contracts from 1956
through 1S59 can be terminated
if sale or death occurs. In either
case, the successor has the op
tion cf earning out the contract.
If th? contract is cancelled the
federal cost share payments
must be refunded and no addi
tional payments will be made.
Btginning with the I960 con
tracts the regulations have been
changed. Contracts arc cancel
led by death or sale unless one
f the following conditions exist:
Successor was part of the or
iginal contract.
Control of farm was gained
through inheritance.
Contract in effect for at
least three years.
These regulations also apply to
the cost-hare program.
Advantages Seen
The Soil Bank program offers
many advantages to the farmer.
Property which is not easily ac
cessible to the main fanning op
eration can be placed ji the con
servation reserve for up to ten
years.
Through the conservation pro
gram, the farmer can improve his
scil through the cost-share pro
gram while receiving payments
for keeping it cut of crop produc
tion.
Retired farmers frequently put
their land in the Soil Bank and 'have sufficient supplies to meet
in many cases are able to show I the needs in excess of defective
a larger, income than if they,rnarket demand during periods of
rented the land to a tenant farm j roce!'sio:1 a"d depression."
er. . He said the Democratic state-
No owner or tenant is allowed. m nt was "nolhing more than an
however, to draw more than S5,- attempt to kep farmers in a ner-
1 COO annually regardless of
many acres he may own.
Example Given
The following example is given
of tiie method used to establish a
contract on a whole farm in the
county:
This 200-acre farm has an es
tablished rate of $17 per acre. A,
'' - '' ' . ' J-
VIlT
- vv
crops to the enormous surpluses in the nation. Soil
Bank program was started in 1956 when Congress acted
on the program sponsored by Secretary of Agriculture
Etra Tatt Benson. (Observer Photo)
Land
For
jnd 120 acres iuum ue csiauiw
ed in cover Icr the life ol -tne
.ontratt. Eighty acres must lie
maintained in gra:; or legumes.
For putting the entire farm in
to the Soil Bank, the farmer is
-.milled to an additional 10 per
cent for a total per acre payment
;of f 18.70.
The farmer bids $18 and is
iwmcilts
bascil un S18 for each
- -.,r' .. ;ii ,.... 1 eimii
" -" -
II.. I.' . .1 1 . . .
ust snare ii
o per acre for the 120 acres will
mount to a maximum figure ot
(u for established p: act ices is
seeding o.' cover.
Eligible Acres
The part-farm contract is de
tcrmined on the bais of the
amount of eligible acres offered,
For example:
A farmer may apply to put 8(1
acres of his 200 acre farm
the Soil Bank. The ASC
must then establish the Soil
base.
The Soil Bank Base is d
mined by the uvcrayc proline
:ion f tlu two preceding years.
in 1958 the farmer raised 30
acres of wheat, 42 acres of bar
.ey, 10 acres of oats, 18 acres
of rye and 20 acres of peas for
a total of 120 acres. -
Base Figured
In 1959 he raised 30 acres of
wheat, 55 acres of barley, 15 acres
I of oats, 20 acres of rye and 20j
Farmer's Income Only Half
Of. What Non-Farmer Makes
WASHINGTON' VPIi Covern-,
nient economists estimate! '
Wednesday that the average U.S.I
, . , .. . ...
farm resident s income would drop I
this year to less than one-half t,he
income of the average non-farm-
or-
Official figures have not been
leleased yet. But experts
said
j the data would show per
capita
net farm income was less than
30 per cent of the non-farm ra'e
for the fourth year in the last
seven.
WASHINGTON (CPU A House
Republican leader has charged
that Democrats want a perman
ent form depression so they ca 1
make political hay out of the
farmers' plight. ,'.,.
Ko'.ise (iOP whip Leslie C
Arends '111. I said Tuesday that a
farm policy statement issued by
the Democratic Advisory Council
made it obvious that Democrats
"must be nliinnii.g a depression
or recession."
Arends challenged the Demo-
cralie statement that "we must
how'mancnt oepression with contin
uous and expanding dependence
0.1 government confols.'
WASHINGTON (LTD The
goverment's investment in farm
price supports rose to a record
of nearly $9.25 billion on Oct. 31
0' d it's headed still higher.
,
i
V. h .
I
f'4
V
v
'.'
v
RESERVE
T',-'''--J
Production
Future
ucr
u! peas for a total of 140
.at - re
It
soil bank base is thus es-
Uitmsiitd at 130 acres. The 80
acres lor the Soil Bank when de
Jut-ted fr. m the bae figure
eae him 50 acres on which he
an hurt est any Soil Bunk base
1 op!1. U the farmer exceeds the
"1 aires he would be in violation
I the contract.
Federal cost share on the 8--aere
cannot be in excess of $8
. er acre lor seed, seeding an
eedbed preparation,
if ap;mived cover already ex-
s( when land is offered to lh
'Oil hank, the farmer may apply
1 tor a eon'rael period of throe or
four years. Whenever it must be
teslab.ished, however, a minimum
contract length of five years is
ivquiied. Contracts are made for
.tip to 10 years.
jh.u helped to reduce surpluses
! while encouraging better conser
lion practices.
The program is designed as a
. stop-gap in the hope that other
solutions can be worked out to
j adjust the demand to the supply-
j of crops.
j (The next article in this series
will deal with the Agriculture
Conservation Program).
The intes.ment reported in an
Agriculture Department statement
Tuisd-i' includes surplus farm
commodities owned by the gov-
nment and clltstanng pKrice
support loans on farm crops,
As of 0ct 31 the department
owned crops worth $7,755 billion.
: Price support loans amounted to
more than SI 47 billion.
The total broke the record of
S90!l billion set last February.
The total was expected to climb
this season when farmer put
me
under
pe
Union County
Waterfowl
Hunting Poor
Steelhcad angling has been fair
to good and is improving on th"
lowr John Day and Walla Walla
Rivers. The I'mrtilla river bekrv
the Three Mite Dam is good to
excellent for steelhead. Best suc
c ss has been with worms or eggs.
A few steelhead are being taker
from the Co'umhia River between
Arlington and McNary.
Steelh-ad ang'ing on th Lower
Grande Ronde and Imnaha Rivrr.
has been fair but spotty because
of fluctuating river levels. AnglinR
should improv with continued cold
weather. Steelhead angling on IK
Snake River below the mouth of
Pine Creek is excellent. Anglin"
success on warm water species
has b-en slow on the Brown'ee
nnd McNary poo's.
H Weerfewl Huntinq
t Duck shoot inff has hern noor lr
Duck s
WatTfnu
county. Goso s'TKitinr
en good on fopgv morninnr
coys. Mi'nv ducks and
ar in the Umatil'a area.
WatTfowl hunting is fnir to Pood
in Unien county and fair to poor
in Baker county. Manv ducks nnd
ome geese are using Wallowa lake
Elk Huntinq
Prospects are ' poor for the
Bridge Creek and Baker controlled
elk seasons because of mild wef til
er conditions. Klk are wfd-Hv
rcattered and s'cying at higher
e'evatioas.
SUSPECTS CLEARED
BAKER (UPD Two suspects in
an arson case were released
Thursday after a 17-yca"-old cx-
MacLaren school inmate changed j
his story.
The youth was arrested Wednes-
';m in ........ i ; .... ... 1 V. .I.l nl
i willlVL.IUll Willi nini u
series of fires in the Richland.
Cre., area, lie implicated two
young persons from Halfway In
(
Gel NEW
ADMIRAL
APPLIANCES
& FURNITURE
for Prices As
LOW AS USED
La Grande
FURNITURE
Warehouse
East Adams Av.
I
NotCure-All Bwm err"!' ' .' 4. .. vjaiJ .5Tr"TIi-.- - T..'.'iT
The Soil Bank has not been l-V:. l- ';r:Vr---'-,....i-i :i-v .,Tr,.-' " ' ' -
office: offered a, a cure-all for the Hi -ifpr ' VVv wVV ii5ir ' C??.. J.? I
Bank .mounting crop surpluses. But F. 'f t .;TS"'.-W I v. '''.v J',ic- ' i-,?v- I
iDepaitinent of Agriculture offi- l'i ' V: : ,JP ' ' I
eter- eial point out that the Drouram '. .U '5 tCt '? rf-'f" . . . ht : I
re of the record 1!59 corn crop I V t . ;i S VaT 7L, V e ' v '. '
le.-support. When the seasonal t '.'' i ' " :i " "Z ' W- ' , ' ''.V .
ak is reached next spring. Un- t. , X'?? ' .; . X 1 2 Z,.J! X X - . .
cieam win own or control about pi',';,; , "'"' -i - " VV V' ''' ' f ' -i, V
$10.5 billion worth of surplus lurts&i&fc
Valley Farm-Ranch-Home
f
.;T
1 -; ti t 1
1 ft . , - -m , i., 1
e I-. -jary trlTTzz,
T :.:..i..Ui :K
m, r-u- 1L '
; v V
'V ,
MARSHLAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Marshland for migratory waterfowl is included in the programs of the Conserva
tion Reserve of the Soil-Bank. The above photograph shows a portion of the marsh
land on the Chase Bohnenkamp farm east of Imhler. Soil Bank conservation pro
grams preserve land, provide cover for wildlife and keep soil out of production.
( j,.; (Observer Photo)
. ..
Iv;. zzjkZzz,z-;-Z;rz:'z r;-. v
PERMANENT WILDLIFE COVER
Lloyd German, manager of the Union Ccu ,ty ?riculurc Stabilizalinn and Conser
vation office, inspects field of permarrent wild ife corr rn the V. T. (Bud) Jones
farm east of Island City. The entire Jon -n farm is in the Conservation Reserve of
the Soil Bank. ' ' (Observer Photo)
JUDGES MEET
PORTLAND UPI) - Oregon
Circuit Court judges were here to
day for their annual meeting. A
day long program was planned
with a welcome by Judge Paul R.
Harris, president of the Judges
Association.
the burning of three vacant houses
and several cars worth ai esti
mated $8,000. 'i
Black & Decker
Portable
Power Tosls
Authorized Dealer
INDUSTRIAL
Machinery & Supply
1410 Adams Ph. WO 3-423
Observer, La Grande, Or..,
Bill Bebout, Editor
...VW-
' iZ.
Z'tt
'i'U .l '.') . rM
-yZ -A 'vji' ViSV' -?- ' ' '-' " Z
Ztt . ''V -'.'
':-zmi
J I
t;;EUn INSURANCE AGENCY
105 Depot La Grande WO 3-Ji2j
Fri., Dec. 11, 1959 P., j
0 j
r m 1 v. i'
1
V V - IZ
9 , m VM neMSB PWrV '"11WPM..
f - j J. i
a.
VI-
Do You Know
Thr ar
many kinds of
fir Insurance?
"... ; ; 4
' 3
.... ,.t..Vi.-i v -i.. ,', i
Inflated prices on homes can causa
increased insurance rates. Wa can
cover ail your Insurirca needs in one
policy. Complete protection at low
cost. Your claim is handled locally
and it receives the immediate attatv
tion of eur office. ' ' -