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USDA to Study Conservation Programs' Environmental Impact

AXcess News published a story covering the USDA plans to begin a nationwide study of the collective environmental benefits of government conservation programs on agricultural land.

But the real issue at hand is watersheds and the pesticides that flow into them and only a handful of fertilizer manufacturing and marketing companies can meet today's stringent environmental requirements, especially in California, where a three-year court battle is still being fought over barriers placed on river and stream banks to hold back the pesticides.

One company making headway in those markets is Itronics, Inc. . Itronics, through its subsidiary, Itronics Metallurgical, Inc., is the only company in the world with the technology to extract more than 99 percent of the silver and virtually all the other toxic heavy metals from used photoliquids and to use this "Beneficial Use Photochemical, Silver, and Water Recycling" technology to convert the resulting liquids into environmentally beneficial, chelated, multinutrient liquid fertilizer products sold under the trademark GOLD'n GRO, and 5 troy ounce, 0.999 pure, Silver Nevada Miner numismatic bars.

Bureaucrats have been feeling pressured by environmental groups, with a growing sentiment to clean up environmental pollutants used in agriculture -- in more ways than one.

Conservation programs have long been a commodity farmers have taken for granted, but if the study being undertaken proves to show little return, chances are the Bush Administration will begin closing the door on some of those conservation programs.

But the real issue at hand is watersheds and the pesticides that flow into them.

While pressure mounts on Capitol Hill, farmers in the West are already feeling the pinch. In 1986 the state of California had passed the "Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act." It requires that products that contain specific chemicals that present excessive risk of cancer or developmental or reproductive harm carry warnings.

Since passing the act, few fertilizers can live up to the state's stringent requirements, which is a problem for farmers. California, Oregon and Washington are some of the largest producers of fruit and vegetables in the nation and for them to readily adapt to new technologies is difficult. Tests are run, which can take several years of production figures to substantiate, leaving farmers in lurch.

Conservation programs have long been a commodity farmers have taken for granted, but if the study being undertaken by the USDA proves to show little return, chances are the Bush Administration will begin closing the door on some of those conservation programs.

But the real issue at hand is watersheds and the pesticides that flow into them.

Will the USDA kill conservation programs? Is Itronics an answer for farmers concerned about stricter fertilizer regulations? To find out go to http://www.axcessnews.com and read the whole story.

About AXcess News:

Dubbed the "Yahoo! of small cap business news" by Gordon Borrell, one of America's leading media and research gurus, AXcess News is fast becoming a known commodity for both the serious investor and people in general looking for informed articles and insightful columns. http://www.axcessnews.com.