compete in a global marketplace laden
with unfair trade practices.
Under triple  base, farmers lost
Government deficiency payments on 15 %
of their base acreage but gained the
flexibility to plant virtually any crop
except fruits and vegetables on this land
and still receive Government price
support loans. The triple base initiative
provided the impetus for a $13 billion
reduction in Government "entitlement"
farm program spending over a 5-year
period as prescribed by the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-508), signed on
November 5, 1990.8
Agricultural provisions in the 1990 act
were revised by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law
103-66), signed by the President on
August 10, 1993.9 Agricultural policy
changes in the new act will produce
savings of $3.2 billion over 5 years.
Major spending cuts involved more
stringent restrictions on farm setaside
programs.    Current law  exempted
gasoline used on the farm for farming
purpose from Federal excise taxes.
Total CRP acreage was originally
mandated to increase from a level of 14
million hectares (34 million acres) in
1990 to between 16 to 18 million hectares
(40 to 45 million acres) by 1995.
Following the 12th CRP signup in mid-
1992, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) reported that total CRP acreage
had increased to 14.7 million hectares
(36.4 million acres). Congress, however,
did not include money for the fiscal year
1993 signup, and allocations would
reportedly be directed toward the WRP in
the future.
Lands available for WRP include
restorable farmed wetlands that were
converted to cropland prior to December
23, 1985, and functionally related
wetlands, uplands, and riparian areas. In
fiscal 1993, USDA was expected to
accept about 20,000 hectares (50,000
acres) in WRP. Also, landowners in
Midwestern States flooded in 1993 were
to have the opportunity to return cropland
to wetlands during the second signup
period for the Emergency Wetlands
Reserve Program (EWRP). The first


EWRP signup returned an estimated
10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) to
wetlands in the Midwest. Missouri and
Iowa led the list of States accepted with
5,000 hectares (12,300 acres) and 2,400
hectares (6,000 acres), respectively.
The Alternative Agricultural Research
and Commercialization Center (AARC) in
Washington, DC, was empowered under
title XVI (subtitle G), sections 1660 and
1661, of the 1990 farm bill to create the
world's most effective organization in
generating new industrial (nonfood,
nonfeed) market demand for U.S. farm
and forestry products. AARC includes a
distinguished board of directors from
private industry whose mission is to apply
sound business and technical practices
that  will  facilitate  the  prudent
development and commercialization of
cost-effective, environmentally friendly
renewable industrial and consumer
products. The new private ventures will
create jobs, enhance rural economic
development, and diversify agricultural
markets.
The  AARC     Center  expects,  at
minimum, matching funds for projects.
Successful projects are expected to repay
the AARC Center Revolving Fund
through negotiated arrangements.  In
1993, the Center was spending $10
million on projects and $25 million came
from  private-sector funds.  Overall,
private companies, nonprofit research
organizations, and universities proposed
407 projects and requested $175 million
in AARC Center funds to supplement
$273 million in private investments.1"
In February 1993, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final
ruling on Standards for the Use or
Disposal of Sewage Sludge. 1 The new
regulations established requirements for
the final use and disposal of sludge in
three circumstances: (1) land application
for beneficial purposes, including sewage
sludge or sewage sludge products that are
sold or given away for use in home
gardens; (2) sludge disposal on land for
placement on surface disposal sites,
including sewage sludge-only landfills;
and, (3) regulatory requirements for the
incineration of sludge.
EPA noted that assessing the potential


for adverse effects on public health and
the environment from sludge pollutants
had been a major challenge, but
expressed confidence that the regulations
would adequately protect public health
and the environment. The Agency stated
that when even given very conservative
assumptions that probably overstated
exposure, studies revealed virtually no
adverse effects from sludge disposal on
the land when used as a soil conditioner
or fertilizer. EPA emphasized that while
public exposure to incinerator emissions
would pose the greatest threat to human
health, available data indicated that
detrimental effects should be minimal.
The Clean Air Act of 1990 (Public
Law 101-549)12 contained 11 titles that
targeted 3 principal forms of pollution:
acid rain, smog, and toxic air pollutants.
One of the major impacts of the new
clean air bill will be the emphasis placed
on clean burning alternative fuels and the
use of oxygenated fuels as air pollution
control strategies. This strategy will have
broad implications for both the United
States and the international motor fuels
market. The principal fuel oxygenates
are methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE);
ethanol, a derivative of corn; ethyl
tertiary butyl ether (ETBE); and tertiary
amyl methyl ether (TAME)."3
EPA's Oxygenated Fuel Program
became effective November 1, 1992,
requiring gasoline marketers to supply
oxygenated fuels for at least 4 months out
of the year having a minimum average
oxygen content of 2.7% by weight in the
39 cities that do not meet Federal air
quality standards for carbon monoxide
(CO).   The National Corn Growers
Association, a trade group in St. Louis,
MO, and Information Resources, Inc., a
Washington, DC, consulting firm,
estimated that approximately 1.1 billion
gallons of ethanol (419 million bushel
corn equivalent) may be required to help
meet the projected U.S. oxygenated fuel
demand created by the Clean Air Act in
1993 and up to 2.4 billion gallons (894
million bushel corn equivalent) by the
year 2000.14
EPA's Reformulated Fuel Program
will commence on January 1, 1995,
wherein the nine worst U.S. ozone


NnTROGEN-1993


720