SIX-The Gawtte-Timfs. Heppner, Oregon. Thursday. February 25,
Ag. land disappearing
Agricultural land in the
United Slates has decreased
three million acres per year
between 17 and 1!)"7. This
land was converted to urban,
built-up. rural transportation
and water. In con junction with
this conversion it has been
estimated that for each acre
lost directly to urban, built-up.
and transportation uses at
least one more acre is isolated
by leap-frog development. In
Oregon during the same
period. 27.WM) acres per year
of agricultural land were
converted to urban, built-up.
rural transportation and wa
ter Total irrigated and nnnir
rigated cropland in the U.S. is
11:1 million acres in 1977 down
almost six percent from 17.
These alarming statistics
were reported by the National
Agricultural Lands Study just
rnmpleted.
Project looks
Ity (iKOKGK O. r.F.ORC.K
The purpose of the project
was !o demonstrate, evaluate
and quantify the effectiveness
of Best Management Practi
ces (filterstrips. grassed wa
terways or outlets, sediment
basins, stripcropping. stubble
mulching and terraces) adop
ted in 1978 by Gilliam.
Morrow. Sherman. Umatilla
and Wasco county Soil and
Water Conservation Districts
(SWCD). These demonstra
tions and evaluations were
designed to reduce landowner
uncertainties concerning ben
efits to be expected from Best
Management Practices
(BMP's installed on their
land to reduce soil erosion and
improve water quality. Three
years of erosion and water
quality demonstration and
evaluation measurements and
observations indicate that ter
racing had the most positive
effect on water quality, while
dry residue in excess of t.non
pounds per acre after seeding
had the most effect on the
initiation of erosion. When
terraces and one other BMP
were present there was a
measurable reduction in the
amount of erosion which
showed up as less sediment in
the terrace and less sediment
in the runoff samples
CONCLUSION SYNOPSIS
I. Level and graded terraces
with gradients less than 0.5
percent will reduce sediment
volumes carried to streams
and water empoundments.
2 To keep stream flow
TURNER
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LaVKHNE VuiSURTER. J
With potential cropland be
ing consumed, more and more
marginal land is being con
verted to cropland. Water and
wind erosion losses are heavi
est on these lands. Twenty
five percent of all rill and
sheet erosion occurs on only 15
percent of the cropped land:
the marginally cropped lands.
The other 75 percent occurs on
land suitable for farming.
"With such huge acreages it
docs not mean that our land
supply is endless, and if we
continue to treat it as if it
were, we will approach the
outer limit of our productive
capacity at such a rapid rate
that we will find it difficult, if
not impossible, to turn our
society around and begin to
treat our land with the care
and stewardship it must
have." as reported by Neil
Sampson, executive vice
at Management Practices
sediment concentrations low
where storage type level
terraces are used will require
a pipe outlet to increase
volume of available stream
flow while removing sediment
from areas above Ihe terrace.
3. All sediment basins re
duce the heavier silt and sands
that enter streams or major
water impoundments.
A All conservation tillage
that has I.ihmi ixnirids or more
dry residue on or in Ihe lop
inch of Ihe soil surface
reduces erosion and the
amount of available sediment
for water pollution.
5. Not enough information
could bo obtained on strip
cropping to provide adequate
information to determine if
reduced erosion will occur by
breaking up rill patterns and
this would reduce sediment
amounts in the water. The
first year's data indicates it
would
fi. All lest Management
Practices evaluated will re
duce total volumes of runoff
and sediment delivered to a
stream or impoundment.
7 Onlv graded terraces,
level terraces with outlets,
sediment basins with outlets
and grassed waterways will
appreciably effect sediment
concentrations in water deliv
ered to it stream or pond
8 Metier evaluation meth
ods should be developed to
predict sediment delivery vol
umes at farm or watershed
boundary so BMP planning
recommendations can be
more effectively provided to
landowners
9 Additional planning and
Hf PWffN. OMOON (7IM
iJniuxance. ntcAi
HOWARD PHTA'-T
1982
fast
president. National Associa
tion of Conservation District,
(NACDt. in his new book,
"Farmland or Wasteland."
The soil erosion process is a
natural process. Manipulation
of the soil by humans for fond
production has accelerated
this process. Soil erosion is
occurring at such a rapid rate
now in the United States that
the soil loss cannot be natural
ly regenerated.
Phase one of the 1977
National Resource Inventor
ies NRI esstimales show a
national IM77 average loss
from sheet and rill erosion in
excess of four billion tons. If it
were all concentrated in one
area, four billion Inns of soil
loss would mean the removal
of all Ihe topsoil (six inches)
from four million acres. With
that kind of loss each ,vear, it
would lake only 1(H) years to
wash away every single acre
installation assistance to aid
landowners in the appraisal
and evaluation of various
cultural, tillage and manage
ment practices when used in a
conservation system will ac
celerate implementation of
BMP's and resource manage
ment systems.
Id. Carrying out Hpecial
evaluation and demonstration
projects in areas where the
Best Management Practices
are not being established or
are being established very
slowly will make landowners
more aware of Ihe value of
BMP's in their farming areas
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of cropland in the U.S.
At the same time as
population is increasing, de
mand for food is also increas
ing in our own country as well
os overseas. United States
farmers send 80 percent, of
each acre of production over
seas. II has been estimated to
keep up with food demand a
II percent increase in pro
duel ion per year will be
needed. To keep up with the
demand for fond, researchers
have identified four new
technologies, that if develop
ed, would ro a long way
toward answering the in
lpfl Veterinarian Supplies
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creased demand for food.
They are: better photosynthe
tic efficiency, development of
nitrogen fixing grains, new
bioregulnlors and twinning in
beef cattle.
Conservation of cropland
takes a moral commitment.
The person who nssumes the
privileges of ownership also
undertakes the responsibility
for stewardship. Failure to
carry nut that stewardship is
not only a personal failure, but
also a public one that threat
ens the well-being of current
, and future citizens.
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