Dwight D. Eisenhower photo

Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Pertaining to the Great Plains Conservation Program.

August 07, 1956

I HAVE TODAY approved H. R. 11833 which amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to provide a long range conservation program for the ten Great Plains States.

In proposing this legislation to the Congress last January, I pointed out that this vast agricultural domain, peopled by seventeen million of our citizens, is subject to severe climatic variations which periodically produce widespread suffering and heavy economic losses. Farm families in this area have a continuous struggle to protect their best growing and grazing lands against soil erosion during seasons of high wind and extremely dry weather. Every citizen in the country has an interest in solving the agricultural problems of this vast Great Plains region, for it contains 37 percent of our nation's land area and 40 percent of our crop land.

These amendments to the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into long-term contracts with farmers and ranchers in the Great Plains States to assist them in making orderly changes in their cropping systems and land uses which will conserve soil and water resources and preserve and enhance the agricultural stability of that area. This new authority is an important part of long range plans which have been developed under the leadership of the Secretary of Agriculture in cooperation with the Great Plains Agricultural Council. These plans visualize a broad sharing of responsibilities among land owners and operators, local leaders, and county and State governments, with the cooperation of the Federal Government.

Note: As enacted, H. R. 11833 is Public Law 1021, 84th Congress (70 Stat. 1115).

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Pertaining to the Great Plains Conservation Program. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/233018

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