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We're From the Gubamint and We're Here to Help
Is there nothing the Gubamint can't screw up? The weed is hard to kill and, if left unchecked, destroys as much as 91 percent of corn on infested land, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is spreading across Iowa, which accounts for nearly a fifth of U.S. corn production and in 2016 exported more than $1 billion of corn and soy. There go the ethanol subsidies. The federal Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers to remove land from production to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and protect endangered species. The endangered species seems to be increasingly the American Farmer. The destructive weed - Palmer amaranth ‐ has spread through seed sold to farmers in the conservation program, according to Iowa's top weeds scientist, Bob Hartzler, and the conservation group Pheasants Forever. I think Tommy Chong is a top weed expert. "We are very confident that some of these seed mixes were contaminated," Hartzler said. It's also called pigweed. Pigs love it. There are many uses for amaranth seed. Hartzler, an Iowa State University agronomy professor, said one seller was Allendan Seed Company, the state's largest producer of local grass and wildflower seeds for conservation land. In written responses to questions from Reuters, Allendan said it was "possible that pigweed seed ... was present in some mixes." Palmer amaranth is a type of pigweed. Allendan did not confirm it had found the seed in any of its supplies. It said outside labs that the firm hires to test seed quality had been unable to distinguish Palmer amaranath from other pigweeds. The company said it started using a new DNA test in February to check its seed for Palmer amaranth. Many farmers joined the conservation program in the past year as prices for their crops tanked amid a global grains glut. The weed can be killed, but the cost of clearing it would be another hit to the cash-strapped farming community in the United States, the world's top corn supplier. The program is managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), units of the USDA. NRCS officials have acknowledged that contaminated seed mixes for conservation land have spread Palmer amaranth. In another state, Minnesota, authorities are also investigating whether the conservation program inadvertently introduced the weed to that state. Keith Smith, a corn and soybean farmer in Gladbrook, Iowa, said he yanked Palmer amaranth out of land he set aside in the conservation program after finding the weeds last year. He doused them in diesel and torched them with old tires. Polluter!! Smith now regrets joining the program. "I thought I'd help out the Earth," he said. You didn't figure in the Government. The NRCS and FSA denied responsibility for the infestation because they do not supply or test the seed that farmers use to turn cropland into a refuge for wildlife. Landowners are responsible for finding their own seed. None of the companies or organizations involved in the program should be blamed, said Jimmy Bramblett, the NRCS's deputy chief of science and technology. "It's just something that happened," he said. The NRCS is nonetheless considering giving financial assistance to Iowa farmers to help control the weed and is working with the farming community and other government agencies to control it, Bramblett said. Posted by: Deacon Blues 2017-04-06 |
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