I 



porate operations based predominately on con- 

 verted wetland have the means and incentive to 

 divide their holdings into two parts: a "white-hat" 

 operation, with previously converted and cropped 

 land eligible for farm programs, and a "black-hat" 

 operation, which would continue to convert and 

 farm wetlands outside the price-support programs. 

 Such legal evasions may blunt the effectiveness of 

 the swampbuster provisions, and they may be prac- 

 ticed by precisely the operators who convert the 

 most wetland. 



Finally, the essential weakness of any provisions 

 linked to denial of farm program benefits is that 

 relatively few operators currently participate in 

 farm programs. Data for 1978 show that only 35 

 percent of farms participated in farm programs, 

 and they accounted for only 53 percent of normal 

 crop acreage (19). In 1982, only 23 percent of total 

 cropland was enrolled in commodity programs (31). 

 Participation in 1984 was higher, at 56 percent of 

 base acreage [47). Participation by wetland con- 

 verters is not known, but may be lower than 

 average since crop histories may not yet have been 

 established on converted land. 



Despite these problems, denying farm program 

 benefits for converted wetlands may well reduce 

 the economic incentive to clear and drain such 

 land. The swampbuster provision should at least en- 

 sure greater consistency between USDA resource 

 protection and commodity support programs. 



References 



1. Adamus, P. R., and L. T. Stockwell. A Method 

 for Wetland Functional Assessment: Volume I. 

 U.S. Dept. Trans., Fed. Highway Adm., 1983. 



2. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 

 Drainage Committee. Problems and Needs in 

 Agricultural Drainage, Report. . . 1945-1946. St. 

 Joseph, MI, 1946. 



3. Anderson, }. R., and H. W. Dill, Jr. Land Clear- 

 ing and Drainage in Eastern North Carolina. 

 ARS 43-127. U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv., 

 Jan. 1961. 



4. Bardecki, M. J. "What Value Wetlands?," 

 Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 39, 

 No. 3, (May-June 1984), pp. 166-169. 



Study of Returns to Wetland Drainage in 

 Southeastern Wisconsin." Paper No. 82-2074, 

 presented at American Society of Agricultural 

 Engineers summer meetings, Univ. of 

 Wisconsin-Madison, June 27-30, 1982. 



6. Bureau of National Affairs. Daily Tax Report. 

 No. 208, (Oct. 28, 1985), p. G-8. 



7. Carter, L. J. "Agriculture: A New Frontier in 

 Coastal North Carolina," Science, Vol. 189 (July 

 25, 1975), pp. 271-5. 



8. Cowardin, L. M., and others. CJassi/ication of 

 Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United 

 States. FWS/OBS-79/31. U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Serv., Dec. 1979. 



9. Council on Environmental Quality. Our 

 Nation's Wetlands — An Interagency Task Force 

 Report. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978. 



10. Daugherty, A. B., personal communication, 

 Nov. 30, 1984. 



11. Dideriksen, R. I., A. R. Hidlebaugh, and K. O. 

 Schmude. Potential Cropland Study. SB-578. 

 U.S. Dept. Agr., Soil Cons. Serv., Oct. 1977. 



12. Fischer, V., and others. A Survey of the 

 Public's Attitudes Toward Soil, Water, and 

 Renewable Resources Conservation Policy. 

 Study No. 792802. New York: Louis Harris and 

 Associates, 1980. 



13. Frayer, W. E., and others. Status and Trends of 

 Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats in the Coter- 

 minous United Slates, 1950's to 1970's. Col- 

 orado State Univ., Dept. of Forest and Wood 

 Sciences, Apr. 1983. 



14. Gray, L. C, and others. "Utilization of Our 

 Lands for Crops, Pasture, and Forests." 

 Agriculture Yearbook 1923. U.S. Dept. Agr., 

 1924, pp. 415-506. 



15. Great Plains Office of Policy Analysis. Wetland 

 Trends and Protection Programs in Nebraska. 

 Univ. of Nebraska, Sept. 1982. 



16. Hammack, J., and G. M. Brown, Waterfowl and 

 Wetlands: Towards Bioeconomic Analysis. 

 Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1974. 



5. Barrows, R., D. Henneberry, and S. Schwartz. 

 "Individual Economic Incentives, the Tax 

 System and Wetland Protection Policy: A 



17. Heimlich, R. E. Sodbusting: Land Use and 

 Farm Programs. AER-536. U.S. Dept. Agr., 

 Econ. Res. Serv., June 1985. 



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