742 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



think any court would sustain a classification as noncropland? My 

 land is no more a hazard to the community than that of my neighbor 

 who has been growing it every 12 years. 



Mr. Walker. Let me enumerate them. The county committee 

 is authorized and instructed to classify any of such lands that are a 

 wind-erosion hazard or might become a wind-erosion hazard to the 

 community as noncropland. 



Mr. PoAGE. But it has to actually be a wind erosion, has it not? 

 They cannot go out and capriciously or arbitrarily testify that it is 

 such because they do not like me. 



Mr. Walker. That is right. 



Mr. PoAGE. I am assuming my land is just like Mr. Hill's land and 

 we are next to each other and we are cultivating it just the same. But 

 I came up from Texas and plowed up a lot of pasture that had been 

 reseeded. Of course, the Government had paid to reseed it. I have 

 deliberately broken down the soil-conservation practices and he has 

 not. He just kept right on with his normal farming. Are you going 

 to treat us alike? 



Mr. Walker. I gave you No. 1. 



Mr. Poage. That does not answer it. 



Mr. Walker. It is not because you are a new fellow, necessarily, 

 that they do not like you, and it is not because they do not like you 

 that they are going to make an adjustment on what you are doing. 

 But this old producer has been fallowing half his land and planting 

 wheat on half his land. 



Mr. Poage. No; I am assuming he has planted every acre in wheat, 

 too, for the last 4 years because he has. Very few old producers in 

 Colorado fallowed any land in the last 4 years. 



Mr. Walker. This example is No. 2. The old producer was fal- 

 lowing half. 



Mr. Poage. No; I am not asking you what you are going to do if 

 you have a case where the old producer has seriously complied with 

 soil-conservation practices and the new producer has not. I under- 

 stand when you get to that. I am talking about where the new pro- 

 ducer and the old producers have farmed their land identically and 

 they have the same kind of land right together. But I am asking 

 what are you going to do to me for plowing up that sod which my 

 predecessors put in and for which the Department of Agriculture paid? 



Mr. Walker. There is nothing in particular unless we know the 

 particular case. How long have you plowed it up? 



Mr. Poage. I plowed it up 4 years ago. 



Mr. Walker. So you have 4 years of history. 



Mr. Poage. That'is right. 



Mr. Walker. The county committee would treat you in about the 

 same manner as the old producer who was planting all of the land to 

 wheat. 



Mr. Poage. That is what I thought. In other words, you are not 

 going to apply anything about this soil conservation? 



Mr. Walker. But that old producer who is planting all of his 

 land to wheat where it should be half fallowed and half wheat will be 

 cut and you will be cut along with him. 



Mr. Poage. But you are not going to penalize me for deliberately 

 breaking up the soil? 



