84 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



are made unless the farmer agrees to follow a farm management 

 plan for better land use. 



The Farm Security Administration and the Soil Conserva 

 tion Service together have charge of carrying out the water 

 facilities program (see page 126). That, however, is the only 

 physical land-use program with which the Farm Security Ad 

 ministration has any direct connection. The new organisation 

 of the Department of Agriculture gave to the Soil Conservation 

 Service the job of actually carrying out all its other land-use 

 operations on farm land. 



The Soil Conservation Service now has control of the pro 

 gram of purchasing and developing sub-marginal lands for their 

 highest use. Erosion control, farm flood control, farm forestry, 

 and similar land-use projects are all under this Service. The fed 

 eral government assists such land-use projects as the state and 

 county zoning programs, cooperative gracing associations, and 

 soil conservation districts through the Soil Conservation Service. 

 In addition to this work, the Soil Conservation Service con 

 tinues with its first task of managing demonstration projects. 



Like the Farm Security Administration, the Forest Service 

 shares one of its activities with the Soil Conservation Service. 

 This is the flood control program which is under the Depart 

 ment of Agriculture and the War Department jointly. The 

 War Department has charge of the downstream flood control 

 projects, that is, the engineering part of the program. The 

 Department of Agriculture is concerned with flood control at 

 the headwaters of the stream (see page 116). There are two 

 main sources of floods in headwaters, eroding land and cut-over 

 forests. From this it is clear why the protection of these head 

 waters has been turned over to the Soil Conservation Service 

 and the Forest Service jointly, since they are the chief govern 

 ment agencies working with this kind of land. In addition to 

 this work, the Forest Service has its regular program of 

 forestry and range protection (see pages 165 and 199). 



