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Release No. 0133.03

**of**\
**Earth Day visit to the Rossback Family Locust Farm**

**in Davidsonville, Maryland with**

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, Maryland Governor Robert L.
Ehrlich and Maryland Agriculture Secretary Lewis R. Riley

# April 22, 2003

\[IN PROGRESS\] 

**     MR RILEY: **\" And we have Steve Connelly, who\'s the state
director of the FSA, Farm Service Agency.\
      \[Applause.\]

**     MR. RILEY: **\" I knew Steve would be here with his boss being
here.  Right, Madam Secretary?  Thank you.  Thank you so much.  It\'s a
delight to have you here.  We welcome you and we just thank you again
for joining us.\
\
    \"You know, in agriculture, every day is Earth Day, and we hope the
examples that you see here on this farm today will make that obvious. 
We think it will.  This farm provides a unique example of the combined
benefits of a variety of effective environmental management techniques. 
It was developed with the cooperation of the Maryland and Anne Arundel
County Soil Conservation District, a real cooperative effort.  It was
done as a part of the 30th anniversary of Earth Day that we\'re
celebrating today, and this farm is truly a showcase of how agriculture
can produce our food and fiber while also protecting our air, water, and
soil.

     \"The farm is also enrolled in Maryland\'s Agricultural
Preservation Program, which is a very popular program, recognized
nationally as being one of the top in the country.  And it ensures that
it will never be used to grow houses or office buildings.  It will
always be a farm and growing and producing crops.

\"The Rossbacks have taken advantage of the Conservation Reserve
Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and they\'ve
provided 15 acres of woodland and grass buffers around the low-lying
wetlands and streams that capture all the agricultural runoff.  And
without these federal programs, those 15 acres could well be highly
erodible runoff impacting the quality of the streams and the
groundwater.\
\
   \
\
-more-

\"Maryland farmers have used these funds to protect over 60,000 acres in
this state, and, Madam Secretary, we appreciate the support that we\'ve
gotten from USDA on those projects.  It\'s vital to the preservation of
our agriculture in Maryland and throughout the country, and it\'s a
tremendous program.

    \"Also vital to the future of all of agriculture in Maryland and
across the country is something I think we\'ll all enjoy.  It\'s in the
interest of the young and the future farmers to stay on the land.  And I
know, Secretary Veneman, that 4-H and FFA are very close to your heart. 
I\'ve read many of your encounters and helpful suggestions to that
group, and it\'s very important to the future of farming.

    \"We\'re pleased to have several of those young future farmers here
with us today from the Anne Arundel County 4-H Club, and they\'re going
to be providing a soil demonstration for us.  And I think we were going
to do that now, weren\'t we, John?  Are your people going to give the
demonstration now?  At the end, okay.  Very good.

   \" We\'ve heard from John Minnick, who\'s also on the list, and
we\'re going to have the introduction later\--I mean, excuse me, the
demonstration later.  It\'s my honor at this time to introduce to you a
young man who we\'re very proud of in all of Maryland, and we\'re
especially proud of in agriculture.  I don\'t know how many of you were
watching television the day of the election back in November, but there
was a statement made that night when the victor was announced, and he
made a statement that made us all very, very proud in the agriculture
community.  And he said\--and I\'m going to quote him.  I\'ve said it so
many times that I can say it verbatim now, Governor:  that \"Agriculture
will have a seat at the table of decisions.\"

     \"Ladies and gentlemen, that was a delightful message to the
agriculture community.  We\'re so thankful for that.  Dr. John Brooks,
our deputy, and myself as Secretary are real proud to be selected to
have filled that seat.  And for a gentleman that really loves and has
shown his love and concern for agriculture, I want to present to you the
Honorable Robert Ehrlich, the Governor of the State of Maryland.  Bob,
it\'s wonderful to have you with us.\"

     \[Applause.\]

**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH: ** \"Thank you.  Thank you.

      \" When I made that statement, Lew did not know he was coming out
of retirement, by the way.  And one of my first phone calls after the
election was to the Secretary, to remind him that his tenure in public
service was not complete, that farmers from---the Western Shore, Eastern
Shore, regardless of subdivision, regardless of area, regardless of
crop, regardless of history, regardless of family, wanted one person,
really, to be Secretary again, and that was Lew Riley.  And, Lew, you
are a wonderful, wonderful part of this administration.  We love you
very much.  Everybody loves you.

     \[Applause.\]\
\
-more-

**GOVERNOR EHRLICH: ** \" And for a man to be in public service this
long and to be this well liked really concerns me.  I don\'t know
how\--\
\
\[Laughter.\]\
\
**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH:**   \"\--he\'s done it.\
\
      \"Madam County Executive\--where is she?  Okay.  Come in out of
the rain, will you?

     \" Honored guests, I\'ll be very brief.  What the Secretary just
described is interesting.  It\'s a success story, but it\'s not exotic,
it\'s not experimental, it\'s not high tech, and it\'s not even really
expensive.  The Rossback family has simply done a lot of common-sense
things to make our state a better place.

     \" I congratulate the family, and I congratulate the Anne Arundel
County Soil Conservation District on their creativity with regard to
this particular model in conservation and agriculture.

      \"Madam Secretary, I think you will agree\--it\'s great to have
you back in Maryland.  The Secretary and other members of this
administration regularly visit us in Maryland.  We are full partners
with regard to the federal administration, and we love having you back. 
You are always welcome in Maryland, and maybe\--

     \[Applause.\]

**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH:**   \"Maybe even one day we\'ll take you to the
slots of our racetrack.

    \[Laughter.\]

**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH: **  \"I love that bumper sticker, \"Farmers,
the First Environmentalists,\" because it\'s the truth.  And every
farmer I\'ve ever met fit that description, and I think we should order
a couple thousand more, Mr. Secretary.

      \"We have a great Department of Agriculture, and I thank them for
their efforts in making this early part of our administration such a
success.

     \" About Earth Day, we\'re standing just a few short miles from the
Chesapeake Bay, and everybody views the Chesapeake Bay, of course, as an
environmental wonderland, and it is; and it\'s an environmental engine,
but it is also an economic engine for this state.  And you cannot
separate the two concepts, nor should we.  Not just Maryland, I should
say, but the entire Mid-Atlantic region as well.

     \" There\'s nothing trivial about our responsibility to do
everything we can to protect and enhance the day as well, and that\'s
why I\'m pleased to welcome the young people, the future leaders of our
state standing to my right.

  

-more-

"Much of what has been done on this farm, much of what Earth Day is all
about, is the desire of our generation to pass on a better Earth to your
generation.  It sounds cliche-ish, but it\'s the truth.  We\'re also
passing on hopefully a greater awareness of your critical role in
protecting the great natural resources of land, water, and air, and a
commitment to making a difference.

      \"Madam Secretary, we\'re incredibly proud of our farmers here in
Maryland, our agricultural community, our policymakers, and our future
farmers.  They are our future.  Together with the Rossback family, they
show us that true environmentalism is not extremism.  True
environmentalism is not extremism, but a simple, effective, and
continuous application of cost-effective, common-sense principles to
everyday life.

     \" I thank you very much for coming out today.  I particularly want
to honor the young people who are honoring Earth Day as well.  And,
Madam Secretary, again, our 27th Secretary, I was just given your résumé
by Secretary Riley.  Secretary Ann Veneman grew up in California.  She
well understands the issues important to America\'s farmers and
ranchers.  Obviously, I got to know her as a member of the United States
Congress from the 2nd Congressional District.

     \"The Secretary has spent much of her career dedicated to food and
agricultural issues and advancing sound U.S. policies in both regards. 
She is no stranger to managing the complexity of a large government
agency and working with Congress.

     \"From 1991 to 1993, she served as USDA\'s Deputy Secretary, the
department\'s second highest position.  She also served as Deputy Under
Secretary for Agriculture, International Affairs and Commodity Programs,
from 1989 to 1991.  From 1995 to 1999, she served as Secretary of the
California Department of Food and Agriculture, CDFA.

     \"It\'s a great pleasure to welcome the Secretary back to
Maryland.  As we said, we\'ve known her for many years.  She was a
partner when I was in the House of Representatives.  She is a truly
important partner to this state.  Madam Secretary, you can come back
anytime you wish.  We welcome you here on Earth Day 2003. \"

     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"Well, thank you very much, Governor, for
that very warm Maryland welcome, and it\'s just a great pleasure to be
here with you in Maryland.  You\'re doing a terrific job for this state,
just as we knew you would do, as you did in the Congress representing
the congressional district from Maryland.

     \"One of the things I think the Governor clearly shows that he
recognizes is the importance of agriculture, the importance of
conservation, and the importance of those two and how they come
together, particularly in a state that has such a tremendous natural
resource like the Chesapeake Bay.  So, Governor, I just welcome all of
your efforts.

   

-more-

\"And I\'m delighted to be here with Secretary Riley because, as was
noted, this is his second time around at Secretary, and he and I were
Secretaries together from states, so we enjoyed a very good working
relationship there in the National Association of State Departments of
Agriculture.  When I was Secretary in California, he was Secretary in
Maryland.  So it\'s delightful to have him back in this job with his
experience.\
\
    \"I also want to recognize someone who has not yet been recognized
here, and that is David Anderson from the Council of Environmental
Quality at the White House, and we\'re very pleased that he can be with
us today.

     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"As was indicated, we have a number of
USDA folks here today, but I have our chief of staff Dale Moore here and
our\--

     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"And our press secretary, Alisa Harrison,
and they\'re both residents of your state.  They\'re your constituents.

     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"And, of course, I want to thank all the
4-H members who are here today.  About a little over a year ago, I
started a program called Leaders of Tomorrow, and we try to have 4-H
and/or FFA folks at all the events that we do all around the country. 
And it\'s delightful today to have so many 4-H representatives, and we
so appreciate what you\'re doing, because you are truly the leaders of
tomorrow.

    \"I also want to thank the Rossback family for having us here today,
and we\'re pleased that we can share in this tremendous farm that they
have made such a conservation showplace for all of us.

    \"Today, as we indicated, we celebrate the 33rd annual Earth Day. 
President Bush has said that protecting the environment starts with
commitment, and I can tell you that this administration is committed to
clean air, to clean water, and to conservation of our soil, our forests,
and all of our natural resources.

     \"The President has a number of environmental initiatives,
including the Healthy Forests Initiative, which is aimed at reducing the
risk of catastrophic wildfires by restoring forest health while
protecting lives and communities and habitats.

   \"He has a Clear Skies Initiative that\'s recently been announced to
improve air quality and improve public health.

     \"And he\'s announced a Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in his State of
the Union Address this year, which would reverse the growing dependence
on foreign energy sources.

    \
\
\
-more-\
\
\"Secretary Riley said this, but it is a quote that the President
constantly says, and he said, \"If you are an owner of the land, every
day is Earth Day.\"  And this farm is such a wonderful example of that. 

    \"America\'s farmers and ranchers collaborating with government and
other private groups have made great strides in helping to improve the
environment.  Through USDA programs, farmers and ranchers have reduced
soil erosion on cropland and pasture by 1.2 billion tons from 1982 to
1997.  They have reduced the loss of wetlands caused by agriculture to
only 27,000 acres per year, down from 600,000 acres per year in the
\'50s, \'60s, and \'70s.\
   \
  \"Our farmers and ranchers have restored nearly one million acres of
wetlands since 1991 under the Wetlands Reserve Program, and they\'ve
applied nutrient management on more than five million acres of land used
in animal feeding operations since 1999. 

    \" The Rossbacks have put in place many conservation improvements
that help underscore the theme for this year\'s Earth Day:  \`Action for
a healthy environment.' 

     \"Today, we are making a number of announcements related to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture\'s ongoing efforts to assist the
stewardship of America\--the stewardship efforts of America\'s farmers
and ranchers.  First, USDA\'s Natural Resources Conservation Service
today is releasing more than \$1.8 billion for fiscal year 2003 in
financial and technical assistance to states for farmers and ranchers to
assist with conservation efforts.  Projects funded will focus on working
farmlands, farms like this one.

     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"The funding will allow our Natural
Resources Conservation Service to help producers with conservation
planning and voluntary conservation programs such as the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program.

     \"The contribution of landowners to these conservation projects
will be about \$1.2 billion based on cost sharing.  In addition, we
expect contributions from state and local government sources, tribes,
conservation districts, and non-governmental organizations totaling
about \$771 million this year.

     \"So this means, when you combine all of these resources and look
at the strength of this partnership, it adds up to about \$3.8 billion
to conserve our natural resources with a focus on the working lands.

     \"The share that will go to the State of Maryland under this
announcement is about \$18.5 million in financial and technical
assistance.

    \[Applause.\]

**    **

-more-

**SECRETARY VENEMAN: ** \"Another announcement we\'re making today is
the beginning of the sign-up under our Conservation Reserve Program. 
Now we heard that part of this farm is in the CRP.  The sign-up period
will go on from May 5th and will end\--begin on May 5th and end on May
30th.

\"The Conservation Reserve Program is a cost-effective, voluntary
program that helps producers improve our lands, our water, and our
wildlife resources.  Under the Conservation Reserve Program, agriculture
producers voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from
production under contracts of 10 to 15 years in exchange for annual
rental payments and the payment of up to 50 percent of the cost to
establish conservation practices.

     \"The 2002 farm bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up
to 39.2 million acres.  Of that, we have reserved two million acres for
the continuous sign-up program, which represents the most
environmentally sensitive lands.

     \"Under continuous sign-up, we are making a special effort to
enhance wildlife habitat and air quality by setting aside 500,000 acres
for bottomland hardwood tree planting.\
 

      \"Finally\--

      \[Applause.\]

 **    SECRETARY VENEMAN:**  \"Thank you.

      \"Finally, we are pleased to announce that we are awarding more
than \$104 million in grants and loans for rural water and wastewater
projects through USDA\'s Rural Development Program.  These 42 projects
in 29 states will help protect our environment and improve quality of
life for many people throughout rural America.  This includes nearly
\$1.7 million for the State of Maryland.

     \"President\--\
\
     \[Applause.\]

**     SECRETARY VENEMAN**:  \"President Bush has proclaimed this year
the "Year of Clean Water," so we think that Earth Day is a very
appropriate time to announce this kind of funding that will help rural
Americans benefit from cleaner water, additional recreation
opportunities, and enhanced wildlife resources.

      \"The President wants to continue to build on his overall
environmental success.  His budget request for fiscal year 2004 includes
a record of \$3.9 billion for conservation of our nation\'s farmlands,
more than double the funding level from when he came into office.

   

-more-

  \"The announcements we are making today highlight the importance of
President Bush\--that President Bush places on a strong environmental
policy that is compatible with a growing, healthy economy. 

     \"Earth Day reminds us that we all have a common interest in
conservation, and it demonstrates that individual actions can make a
real difference, thus preserving land, air, and water for the future
generations.\
\
\"I want to thank you all for having me here today.  It is an absolute
delight to be with you to share this very important Earth Day.  Thank
you very much, and thank you, Governor.\"

     \[Applause.\]

**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH: ** \"Now you know why we like her.  She always
brings cash.

     \[Laughter.\]

**      GOVERNOR EHRLICH: ** \"Senator \[inaudible\] has joined us,
Senator Johnny \[inaudible\], and Acting Secretary Lynn Buell.  Lynn,
thank you very much.

     \[Applause.\]

**     GOVERNOR EHRLICH:**  \"Madam Secretary, it\'s a perfect Earth Day
in Maryland, and your presence has really completed our experience.  The
young people, it\'s just a really neat day for us, so thank you again
very much. 

     \"Mr. Secretary, the podium\'s yours. \"

**     SECRETARY RILEY: ** \"Thank you, Governor.

     \"Madam Secretary, every day is Earth Day, and you\'re welcome to
come back to Maryland every day.  With a proposal like that\--\"

     \[Laughter.\]