Dr. MULHERN. That is the proposal, in 10 years. Mr. WHITTEN. Do you think the States east of Texas will pay for this program for 9 years in the hopes that they will get it eventually? Dr. YEUTTER. The plan, as I understand it, would be that they would only begin to pay at the time Mr. WHITTEN. That they came into the program? Dr. YEUTTER [continuing]. That it was extended to them, yes. COST TO GROWERS AND STATES Dr. MULHERN. In fact, I think that the annual cost that the growers are now paying for pesticide treatments will be about the same required to carry out the proposed program. Mr. WHITTEN. I frequently feel that way about the other fellow's farming. I was in Cleveland, Miss., which is in the heart of the Cotton Belt, and I was trying to tell them that they had a delta country and they were ideally situated for cotton. I said, "You are in the cotton business from now on. You cannot be interested in just a short-term thing." The fellow in the back of the hall said, "Hell, I owe my note this fall." How does the farmer feel! Dr. MULHERN. What I am saying is, the farmer, if he did not have a program, would have to continue to pay so much money each year for these treatments to grow his cotton. Mr. WHITTEN. You can say how he carries on his business and I can say how he carries on his business, but what does he say about his business? Dr. MULHERN. I do not know. Mr. WHITTEN. That is what we need to know before we move at this level, would you not think? Dr. YEUTTER. That is exactly right. What is done in Texas is obvi ously a precedent for what will follow later on in Mississippi. Mr. WHITTEN. I will tell you if it is. I wanted to hear what you would say. We started this test out in Texas for 2 years; you say it has been going on for 10 years. You say that is an example of what we can expect here? I asked you how long it has been going on, because I recall vividly we were going to do it 2 years to see how it worked. Ten years later we are still doing it. Dr. YEUTTER. This would be a different kind of a program. Dr. YEUTTER. No. My point is, what was done in the way of fi nancing in Texas is going to establish a precedent for the financial participation that Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia will provide, and that the producers will provide. In other words, if, for example, the State of Texas puts up 30 percent of the cost, it is most unlikely that the State of Louisiana would put up 40 percent. Mr. WHITTEN. Give us a detailed statement about this subject. [The information follows:] FINANCING BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION The Farm Act of 1973 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make a determination with respect to the degree of financing to be borne by the cotton producer in a beltwide boll weevil eradication program. As has been indicated, there are varying degrees of impact caused by the boll weevil to cotton producers throughout the Southern States. This obviously means some equitable formula for grower participation must be determined. We have further indicated that we do plan a series of meetings with representatives of the cotton industry and producers to help reach this decision. Until we have the opportunity to discuss this matter with representatives of the cotton industry and producers, it is difficult, at this time, to suggest a formula. We are proposing to use the funds that we have requested for fiscal year 1975 to conduct a series of meetings to reach decisions on the matter of funding, the necessary regulatory authorities at the State level, the organizational structure, and many other relevant matters which must be settled before a detailed plan covering a beltwide eradication program is completed in full detail. Mr. WHITTEN. I apologize, but this is vital to me. I came from this area. My section is very much interested in it. Mr. BURLISON. Will you yield? Mr. WHITTEN. Yes. GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS OF ERADICATION PROGRAM Mr. BURLISON. Do you have the boundary area that this project will encompass? Dr. YEUTTER. Yes. Mr. BURLISON. I take it none of the Missouri Delta, the boot heel of Missouri, is included in your belt for eradication? Mr. IVERSON. Eradication will be the goal of any program undertaken eventually. There are a few boll weevils that we would have to take care of in the boot heel of Texas and northern Arkansas. Mr. BURLISON. I am talking about Missouri. Mr. IVERSON. Missouri, yes, I am sorry. Mr. BURLISON. Can you tell me whether Missouri is encompassed within this project? Mr. IVERSON. It will be. Dr. MULHERN. Yes, it is. Mr. BURLISON. Why? Mr. IVERSON. Simply because we cannot afford to let a boll weevil stay around that can migrate and reinfest the areas that we have cleaned out. Mr. BURLISON. My part of Missouri, the boot heel of Missouri, is right in the northern tier of the cotton belt. It is cold enough up there that we do not have the boll weevil. I am wondering, are we going to be paying for this problem that we do not have? Mr. IVERSON. Only if at the time this area becomes part of the program, as we move across the belt, we find some weevils up there. Hopefully we can take advantage of the cold weather that you have to clean those weevils out of the boot heel of Missouri and start the program from there and move out from there. Mr. BURLISON. We do not have a boll weevil problem. We have some other insect problems, but we do not have any problem with the boll weevil. Dr. YEUTTER. There will be no assessment unless you have a boll weevil problem. I suppose one always runs the risk of saying that you have no boll weevil today but, as a result of the shifts that go on as the program is undertaken, you might have one, but I cannot conceive of any. Mr. BURLISON. I do not believe so, because of the climatic condi tions there. I do not believe that you could chase the weevil up there. Dr. YEUTTER. If there are no weevils there, we will not include them in the program. Mr. BURLISON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. WHITTEN. I think it is well we went into this at this time, you may proceed with your general statement. Dr. WISE. My full statement will be available for the record. We have discussed the $100,000 proposed increase for boll weevil work. Essentially this is to study the type of program that the chairman has been asking about. It is the only increase we have proposed in our plant protection programs for 1975. VETERINARY SERVICES The requested increase for Veterinary Services activities for 1975 includes $15,449,000 in three program areas, and $62,900,000 needed to repay the Commodity Credit Corporation for transfers due to the exotic Newcastle disease and hog cholera emergencies. DARIEN GAP PROGRAM TO PREVENT SPREAD OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE The first of these involves the Darien Gap, which is a region of untraveled jungle between Panama and Colombia. This jungle has in the past provided an effective barrier against the northward spread of foot and mouth disease from South America. |