[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 INTRODUCTION OF THE FARM RESERVOIR ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TERRY EVERETT

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2007

  Mr. EVERETT. Madam Speaker, I am introducing legislation today, along 
with my colleagues Representatives Robert Aderholt, Jo Bonner, Mike 
Rogers, and Jim Marshall, to assist American farmers in dealing with 
drought conditions and enable them to increase their farm productivity. 
The need for on-the-farm drought management has become increasingly 
evident as farmers and the government struggle to keep ahead of the 
effects of Mother Nature. The drought conditions for the 2005 and 2006 
crop years underscored the devastating toll natural disasters have on 
our Nation's farmers and ranchers. The current approach of providing ad 
hoc disaster assistance is inadequate and does not give farmers the 
certainty they need. The Farm Reservoir Act would provide cost-share 
assistance to agricultural producers for the construction of small 
reservoirs on their farms.
  By combining sound planning with the right resources, agricultural 
producers can reduce the impact droughts have on their operations. 
Small on-farm storage reservoirs are an economical way to save water 
for summer use. The collection and storage of surface water during the 
off-season, when rainfall and stream levels are typically high, can 
make irrigation possible in areas where direct pumping from streams, 
lakes, or wells during the growing season is not feasible. Because 
these reservoirs are small, the engineering and construction cost per 
acre-foot are less than big on-stream reservoirs. Additionally, they 
are more acceptable from an environmental perspective, because they are 
off-stream and do not block streams or disturb riverine habitats.
  In addition to protecting our Nation's farmers from the costly 
effects of drought, enhancing their irrigation capacity will allow our 
farmers to expand production to more acres and increase the 
productivity of existing acres. Cost-share assistance to construct 
small, environmentally-friendly, reservoirs located on the farm will 
provide us with the tools necessary to grow additional bio-fuel crops; 
which will allow us to wean ourselves from foreign oil. This will 
reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the availability 
of the cleaner burning fuels these crops produce.

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