§ 3472. — Conservation tillage; Congressional findings, etc.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC3472]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 54--RESOURCE CONSERVATION
SUBCHAPTER VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 3472. Conservation tillage; Congressional findings, etc.
(a) Congress finds that--
(1) domestic and international demand for agricultural products
from the United States is great and is expected to significantly
increase over the next twenty years;
(2) the ability of the United States to provide agricultural
products to meet that demand is seriously impaired by the annual
loss of five billion tons of soil due to wind and water erosion;
(3) the battle against soil erosion is being lost despite the
annual expenditure of millions of dollars by the Federal Government
on research, technical assistance, and conservation incentives to
control soil erosion;
(4) conservation tillage practices are estimated to reduce soil
erosion by 50 to 90 per centum over conventional farming practices;
and
(5) conservation tillage may result in better yields, greater
land use flexibility, decreased fuel use, decreased labor and
equipment costs, increased retention of soil moisture, and more
productive land than conventional farming practices and may be
adaptable to a broad range of soil types and slopes throughout the
country.
(b) It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture
should, and is hereby urged and requested to--
(1) direct the attention of our Nation's farmers to the costs
and benefits of conservation tillage as a means of controlling soil
erosion and improving profitability; and
(2) conduct a program of research designed to resolve any
unanswered questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of
conservation tillage over other soil conservation practices.
(Pub. L. 97-98, title XV, Sec. 1553, Dec. 22, 1981, 95 Stat. 1345.)
