Highlights From The Original Hearing Transcript to form Monroe County Soil Conservation District as Recorded

A.A. ULMET -
I believe that all of you know the purpose of this meeting here tonight. We have Mr. L.E. Hoffman, representing the State Soil Conservation Committee, with us. It is going to be up to you people to show him that we need and want this Soil Conservation District.  I would like for Turner Wiley to tell us about pasture as a soil conservation practice.

TURNER WILEY -
I am not going to try to tell you about something you never heard about or don’t know about. I will try to refresh your minds along lines you have already been thinking. We all know better than we do and have to keep prodding ourselves to do the best we can. I can look around over Monroe county and see almost worthless farms. In Washington township there is one farm that used to be good land, but now it is practically worthless. It was the best soil we have in Monroe county and grew alfalfa, etc. It was Bedford and Hagerstown soil. We farmers can usually tell about what soil will do by timber on the soil. Some of this land, as we say, is worn out. I think it is just washed out. It has got to the place it won’t even grow ragweed. It is very poor. By handling the land properly, it can be reclaimed, at least be brought back to be more profitable. A soil that was good soil can be easily built up but that - that was always poor is hard to build up. Some soils that have grown broom grass, etc., if plowed up and seeded to red top, lespedeza, clovers, etc., but first we will have to treat with acid phosphate and lime, and if they are fertilized and seeded to grasses that don’t have to be replaced every year, they will become good pastures. Don’t keep cattle in the pasture as long as you can see grasses, because that won’t get the best results. One of the best ways to control erosion is by pasture. It is not possible to keep all land in pasteur, but it should not be plowed. Two bankers bought a badly washed farm near mine and asked what to do. I said to them, “Get that down to grass, get some good outside fence and don’t plow.” They did that and I’ll ask anybody if that farm is not better and more profitable. Why worry about the other man’s land over the fence? The fence does not determine where good land stops and poor land begins. If a man on the other side of the fence has poor land, it pulls down the value of yours. We have to take into consideration sometimes the other fellow’s farm to enhance the value of our own.

A.A. ULMET -
One of the things we should pay more attention to is trees. George Hinds will tell us something of the Value of Trees.

GEORGE . HINDS -
As Mr. Wiley said, I think we all have this erosion problem. After the soil is so far gone, pasture won’t take care of it, try trees. I have tried it during the past few years and find that is one of the best ways. Locust will grow on most of this land and I understand that trees are usually furnished through the Soil Conservation Districts. It is something we need. Most farmers are short on post timber. We grow our own trees and convert into posts. I don’t know of anything that will benefit this land that is past crop control more than trees.

A.A. ULMET -
We have another reason. We go from the upland to the lowland. Many of us have some wet land that we don’t know for sure what to do with and there is interest in drainage ditches. I wonder if someone will tell us about the problem in Bean Blossom creek valley.

MILTE HITE -
I don’t know much, but I know over there where I am located we need something in the way of drainage; more than one or two farmers can do. I was interested in this soil conservation when I thought we could get some help through that. We could even get some surveying done and some help that would do a lot of good up and down the bottom.

A.A. ULMET -
We have some ladies present in the meeting. I am going to ask, Mr.s Milt Hite for her opinion on the district movement.

MRS. MILT HITE -
I think we all know of the drainage problem over there. We make one and miss two crops. Water gets on the farm all around us. I am interested as a homemaker. If the food is produced on soil that in’t up to par, the food isn’t either. I want the district to help make food, etc. better.

A.A. ULMET -
Would any of the other ladies like to express themselves?

MRS. RUSSELL WILEY -
I am always interested in the things that are going to help our farm life to be better and help our home life to be better and help our posterity. I think that it is all extremely interesting and will be very helpful to everyone concerned. I do think that one of the things that has especially interested me is the conservation of trees and why we need the trees. I have often thought that even if we could get along without lumber, fruits, etc. that our trees furnished, trees are still important. I have often marveled that scientists have estimated that one oak tree that sends its roots down many feet into the soil for Food and water will throw off about 150 gallons of water a day for the benefit of other vegetation. People don’t realize the benefits of trees until they have great storms and rains that will was the soil. There might have been layers of topsoil that would have been saved by trees. Trees build soil because they affect the land in such a way as to hold water and serve as a reservoir to hold the water. I am sure that a lot of folks don’t realize this and for selfish reasons have taken timber away and if it is not replaced more areas will need conserving.

A.A. ULMET -
We would like to have Mr. Levi Oliver tell of the erosion on his farm.

LEVI OLIVER -
We have a farm located south of Ellettsville. I have a picture in my pocket taken from an airplane. It is a view during a flood in Ellettsville caused by the overflow of Jack’s Defeat. The picture shows erosion during the rainy season. There are 15 ponds on our 160 acre farm; they are commonly known as sink holes. I would like to have something done about those if possible.

(Mr. Olive presented two airplane photos of his farm showing the 15 sink holes full of water and a gullied area.)

A.A. ULMET -
Mr. Kenneth Freeman, you were one of the men to carry a petition for this district. Why were you interested in this?

KENNETH FREEMAN -
The boundary of this district takes in about every type of soil and all problems of erosion and drainage that are to be found in the county I believe. I live close to the Flat Woods where there is much needed drainage, and just as an example, Mr. Weathers has one of the farms where the water comes from the hills across the woods and causes much erosion of level soil. His idea was to get help to build terraces around this hill to drain water that comes down across this farm land. I think it would be very helpful on this level land as well as on hill land for drainage control. Hill land causes erosion on level soil.

A.A. ULMET -
Mr. Russell Wiley, will you tell us about the problems on your farm?

RUSSELL WILEY -
I have a farm in Bean Blossom bottom. We have floods which are caused from rushing water coming off of hills so fast the creek can’t carry it. I have lived here 15 years and have lost one hay crop every few years almost completely. I had to plow the crop under and forget it. This did not hurt the ground so much but hurt my pocketbook. The rush of water washes fields pretty badly not in overflow land. I have had some surveying done on diversion ditches and I think it would help if we could get the project through. I am short of help right now to build the diversions that I have staked out. I have filled ditches with weeds but water washed them out. We really need something done to help us.

A.A. ULMET -
We have heard from the farmers and their wives. I see we have some of the Future Farmers here. Ralph Hit, would you want to speak?

RALPH HITE -
I am a member of the Future Farmers, but our president is here. I suggest that he should represent us.

CURTIS FOSTER -
I am from the Bloomington Chapter of Future Farmers of America. I think this district should go through. If the men don’t put it through now we won’t have the land, etc. to carry on later.

HERSCHEL COWDEN -
What happened on one farm has happened on many. Today you can cut down most any kind of sapling and put across Bean Blossom creek, but years ago the creek was wider. When one man I know was a boy, it had to rain 4 or 5 days to put the creek out, but now takes only one night. The next generation the creek will be taking the farm. It has washed more this year than ever before. Top soil washed away this year.

A.A. ULMET -
Mr. Hoffman, would you like to hear from more people on why we are wanting to organize this soil conservation district?

L.E. HOFFMAN -
No I don’t think so. You don’t need to sell me on the need for soil conservation. I would like to have you discuss the boundaries of the proposed district so that I can tell the state committee your wishes.