Twenty questions, John Block

Excerpt

1 The revised draft of the 1981 RCA Program Report and Environmental Impact Statement paints soil erosion on cropland as severe in many parts of the nation. What link, if any, is there between severe soil erosion and increasing foreign demand for U.S. food and feed grains, and how does your advocacy of increased farm exports to underpin commodity prices mesh with your concern about soil and water degradation?

Secretary Block: A number of factors interact to affect erosion rates on our cropland. They include total demand for agricultural commodities to meet domestic and foreign needs, types of crops grown, investments by producers in needed soil and water conservation measures, loss of productive capacity from salinity and other forms of soil degradation, and conversion of farmland to nonfarm uses. Exports are only one factor in this equation.

With the right use of conservation systems, including conservation tillage, we can produce to meet our needs at home and to help feed hungry people in other countries. Our current export policies will lead to a more prosperous agriculture, and adequate farm income is the cornerstone of an effective soil conservation program.

Service, was recently quoted by Farmlad News as suggesting that …