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agribusiness Delta FARM enhancing environmental awareness BY BILLY PERCY
For years, as farm operators have become the target of many things that are perceived as going wrong with the environment, many of us have winced a little bit. The farmers’ frustration with this image stems from the fact that there is little credit given for the significant environmental quality improvements which have occurred during the past years. It also hurts to know that some of these claims about the lack of environmental stewardship on farms is due to problems beyond the reach of current agricultural technology. This is why a group of farmers from the Mississippi Delta have started an association named Delta FARM (Farmers Advocating Resource Management). The Delta FARM program is an association that will not require any dues, and it will not be engaged in regulatory matters or legislation affecting farm practices; however, what it will be doing is: · Properly recording and bringing recognition to the existing environmental stewardship practices which have already been implemented by landowners and farm operators in the Mississippi Delta. · Facilitating environmental improvements at the farm level, so that Delta farming operations become the envy of U.S. agriculture, in terms of environmental stewardship goals. There are many benefits which will accrue to Delta agriculture and the Delta as a whole, as a result of the work of Delta FARM. First and foremost, the greatest benefit is derived simply because environmental stewardship is the right thing to do. But, we should be quick to add that the vast majority of the land and water resource conservation goals outlined in Delta FARM are also economical, and in some instances, more profitable. The standards and principles outlined in the Delta FARM program were developed by farmers. However, it is important to note that support has been given to this effort by such state and federal agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency, USDA, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, NRCS–USDA, the Division of Agriculture–Mississippi State University, the Yazoo Water Management District, and numerous private–sector allied agricultural businesses and farmer–owned cooperatives. Farmers can affiliate with the Delta FARM Association by simply: · Indicating an interest in becoming affiliated with Delta FARM. The county agent, Extension specialist, or the Delta FARM staff will provide you with a manual, consisting of approximately 50 simple "yes" or "no" questions, related to land and water resource conservation stewardship. · The farm operator or landowner will conduct a self–evaluation, utilizing the Delta Farm manual questionnaire (all questions will require only a "Yes" or "No" answer. · When the farmer has completed the self–evaluation questionnaire which is enclosed with the manual, the Extension Service or Delta Farm staff will visit the farming operation to review the evaluation, confirm the existing farm practices which have already been implemented, and outline reasonable, responsible, and most of all, voluntary steps which can contribute toward meaningful and documented improvements for the Delta’s environmental quality. By taking the destiny of the Delta’s farm environment in our own hands, we are convinced that there will never be a time in the future when landowners and farm operators from this region will not have a seat at the table as discussions about environmental laws, regulations, and compliance are developed. We believe that the aggregate impact of implementing the Delta FARM Program 200,000 – 300,000 acres in the Mississippi Delta by ‘2000 will make a difference in our ability to manage the land and water resources. Delta FARM has already caught the eye of all of our major environmental quality, conservation, and regulatory agencies. These agencies view that the Delta FARM program is one more illustration of the progressive outlook and visionary leadership of farmers in the Mississippi Delta. We have imposed a goal upon ourselves for signing up more than 200,000 acres of land in the Delta FARM program by the year 2000. As we continue beyond this ambitious goal of 200,000 acres, we will also register incremental and voluntary improvements on that acreage which is affiliated with Delta FARM as each year passes. Within three days of formally announcing the creation of the Delta FARM program to only a handful of farm operators, we signed up more than 40,000 acres in the first week. We believe that we have constructed a reasonable, responsible, and most of all, an attainable goal which will pay huge dividends to the profile of Delta agriculture and the Delta environment for many years into the future. For more information about the Delta FARM Program, we hope that farm operators will contact Trey Cooke, P. O. Box 257, Stoneville, Mississippi, (601–686–3360). DBJ Billy Percy is a farmer in Washington County and is chairman of the Delta Farm Program. |
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