http://www.boston.com/dailynews/086/nation/FARM_SCENE_Runoff_control_prog:.shtml

FARM SCENE: Runoff control programs quickly run out of money

By Associated Press, 3/27/2001 01:04

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Farmers wanting to sign up for a federal program to help them keep pesticides out of the waterways, often run into a major roadblock the program is broke.

''It's frustrating,'' said farmer-veterinarian Mike Klauser, 51, of Keokuk. ''There are a lot more people wanting to get in these programs than there is money, so it's very competitive.''

The Des Moines River runs through Klauser's property. He tried for three years to get money to convert 150 acres into a wetland, but was turned away. He is trying again this year.

Farm runoff carries sediment and farm chemicals, primarily fertilizers, into Iowa's waterways. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared 157 Iowa waterways polluted, and hundreds more could be added under tougher proposed guidelines. An ongoing study of Iowa's 132 lakes showed they are among the most fertilizer-polluted waters in the world.

Paul Johnson, a Decorah farmer and the former head of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the government should add $10 billion to the various programs that pay for conservation work.

''The public is not begging us to pay farmers to produce more wool,'' said Johnson, who under President Clinton ran the federal agency that administers the programs. ''We wring our hands and say it's terrible we have polluted our water and air, yet the programs we have just don't have the money.''

The Natural Resources Conservation Service reported that about 2,500 applications in Iowa, representing $90 million in payments, have been turned away because of the funding shortage.

Conservation groups, such as Pheasants Forever, and state agencies encourage farmers to plant buffer strips of grass along streams and use farming methods that help preserve topsoil.

A new report by the group Environmental Defense found that half the farmers and ranchers who ask for technical help from the government are turned away.

About 75 percent of farmers who ask for money to restore wetlands or use other conservation techniques are told the money is gone, the study said.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001