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Stumble It!
By AMY DOMINELLO
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – If Jimmy Bassett left it to Mother Nature, he’d be out of business.
The Alabama turf farmer has had to dig four reservoirs on his 1,000 acres to provide water for the sod he grows. With Alabama’s record drought conditions, he’d be happy to have a couple more reservoirs.
If Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., has his way, Congress will come to the rescue of farmers like Bassett throughout Alabama and the Southeast.
Everett has proposed spending $60 million a year for five years for farmers to build reservoirs and irrigation systems as part of the Farm Bill’s Regional Water Enhancement Program. Water would be drawn from rivers during the winter when rain is more plentiful in the Southeast. The reservoirs would hold the water and collect rainwater for drier months.
Without such systems, “we have no way to capture the water,” said Everett, who owns a farm himself.
Farmers would pay half the irrigation costs, with taxpayers footing the rest of the bill. The reservoirs would have to meet certain requirements, such as not affecting water quality or flow.
Richard T. McNider, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said soils in the Southeast do not retain the winter rainwater well.
That’s a problem right now. The Southeast’s record drought means that Birmingham received 28.9 inches of rainfall in 2007, about half of what it received in 2006.
Farmers can build irrigation systems on their own, but some say it is too costly. McNider said a farmer with a 200- to 300-acre farm could expect to spend $100,000. About six years ago, Bassett spent $70,000 built a 20-foot deep reservoir on 14 acres.
Keith Gray, the legislative director of the Alabama Farmers Federation, said those costs are why Alabamians are hopeful Congress will approve the provision, co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
“Not every farmer is going to have the resources to do this,” Gray said. “It’s a way to cost-efficiently utilize the water that’s out there.”
The funding, while available to farmers across the country, would be targeted to the Southeast. Alabama’s congressmen and farmers are big supporters.
Everett believes the measure could help revive farming throughout the Southeast and change the face of Alabama agriculture. While agriculture is still one of the state’s top industries, Alabama has lost more than 10 million acres of row crops in the last 50 years, he said.
Increasing water shortages in the West means American farming will need to return to the Southeast, Everett said.
McNider said Alabama has about 100,000 acres of irrigated land. Other Southeast states like Georgia and Mississippi have done a better job irrigating their land. Georgia and Mississippi each has about 1.5 million acres of irrigated land, he said.
Everett believes the proposal may save taxpayers money. If farmers had a more secure pipeline of water, the relief payments that government pays farmers during drought could be reduced. The federal government has paid $1.5 billion for crops lost to drought and other natural disasters from 2005 through 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers can still apply for aid for those years.
Steve Ellis, a spokesman for Taxpayers for Common Sense, said he was unfamiliar with the provision the Alabamians are pushing. He said giving more money through these types of programs is not good for taxpayers because small federal programs have a way of growing.
“It’s something where it becomes a slippery slope,” Ellis said.
Even though the government would be giving farmers grants, McNider said it this is not a hand-out but a helping hand for farmers.
“It’s not a subsidy,” he said. “It does what government is supposed to do.”
Prospects for the measure’s passage are uncertain. Congress re-writes the nation’s farm policy every five years. While the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill last year, President Bush has threatened a veto because he believes the overall price tag of more than $280 billion over five years is too high.
Everett and others want to negotiate a dollar amount before Congress takes up the Farm Bill, which is operating under a temporary extension that expires March 15.
Everett will retire at the end of 2008. He hopes his proposal remains in the Farm Bill and passes before year’s end. If not, he hopes the U.S. Department of Agriculture will consider it as a pilot program.
Everett’s not the only one. Bassett, who farms in Tuskegee, said he would seriously consider building more reservoirs with the federal government’s help.
“Those on-farm reservoirs really help us have the rain when we need it,” he said.
Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com
Media General News Service
WASHINGTON – If Jimmy Bassett left it to Mother Nature, he’d be out of business.
The Alabama turf farmer has had to dig four reservoirs on his 1,000 acres to provide water for the sod he grows. With Alabama’s record drought conditions, he’d be happy to have a couple more reservoirs.
If Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., has his way, Congress will come to the rescue of farmers like Bassett throughout Alabama and the Southeast.
Everett has proposed spending $60 million a year for five years for farmers to build reservoirs and irrigation systems as part of the Farm Bill’s Regional Water Enhancement Program. Water would be drawn from rivers during the winter when rain is more plentiful in the Southeast. The reservoirs would hold the water and collect rainwater for drier months.
Without such systems, “we have no way to capture the water,” said Everett, who owns a farm himself.
Farmers would pay half the irrigation costs, with taxpayers footing the rest of the bill. The reservoirs would have to meet certain requirements, such as not affecting water quality or flow.
Richard T. McNider, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said soils in the Southeast do not retain the winter rainwater well.
That’s a problem right now. The Southeast’s record drought means that Birmingham received 28.9 inches of rainfall in 2007, about half of what it received in 2006.
Farmers can build irrigation systems on their own, but some say it is too costly. McNider said a farmer with a 200- to 300-acre farm could expect to spend $100,000. About six years ago, Bassett spent $70,000 built a 20-foot deep reservoir on 14 acres.
Keith Gray, the legislative director of the Alabama Farmers Federation, said those costs are why Alabamians are hopeful Congress will approve the provision, co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
“Not every farmer is going to have the resources to do this,” Gray said. “It’s a way to cost-efficiently utilize the water that’s out there.”
The funding, while available to farmers across the country, would be targeted to the Southeast. Alabama’s congressmen and farmers are big supporters.
Everett believes the measure could help revive farming throughout the Southeast and change the face of Alabama agriculture. While agriculture is still one of the state’s top industries, Alabama has lost more than 10 million acres of row crops in the last 50 years, he said.
Increasing water shortages in the West means American farming will need to return to the Southeast, Everett said.
McNider said Alabama has about 100,000 acres of irrigated land. Other Southeast states like Georgia and Mississippi have done a better job irrigating their land. Georgia and Mississippi each has about 1.5 million acres of irrigated land, he said.
Everett believes the proposal may save taxpayers money. If farmers had a more secure pipeline of water, the relief payments that government pays farmers during drought could be reduced. The federal government has paid $1.5 billion for crops lost to drought and other natural disasters from 2005 through 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers can still apply for aid for those years.
Steve Ellis, a spokesman for Taxpayers for Common Sense, said he was unfamiliar with the provision the Alabamians are pushing. He said giving more money through these types of programs is not good for taxpayers because small federal programs have a way of growing.
“It’s something where it becomes a slippery slope,” Ellis said.
Even though the government would be giving farmers grants, McNider said it this is not a hand-out but a helping hand for farmers.
“It’s not a subsidy,” he said. “It does what government is supposed to do.”
Prospects for the measure’s passage are uncertain. Congress re-writes the nation’s farm policy every five years. While the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill last year, President Bush has threatened a veto because he believes the overall price tag of more than $280 billion over five years is too high.
Everett and others want to negotiate a dollar amount before Congress takes up the Farm Bill, which is operating under a temporary extension that expires March 15.
Everett will retire at the end of 2008. He hopes his proposal remains in the Farm Bill and passes before year’s end. If not, he hopes the U.S. Department of Agriculture will consider it as a pilot program.
Everett’s not the only one. Bassett, who farms in Tuskegee, said he would seriously consider building more reservoirs with the federal government’s help.
“Those on-farm reservoirs really help us have the rain when we need it,” he said.
Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com