A national program of research for soil and land use /

Mode of access: Internet.

Deepwater reef fishes and multibeam bathymetry of the Tortugas South Ecological Reserve, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Florida

The Tortugas South Ecological Reserve, located along the margin of the southwest Florida carbonate platform, is part of the largest no-take marine reserve in the U.S. Established in July 2001, the reserve is approximately 206 km2 in area, and ranges in depths from 30 m at Riley’s Hump to over 600 m at the southern edge of the reserve. Geological and biological information for the Tortugas South Reserve is lacking, and critical for management of the area. Bathymetric surveys were conducted with a Simrad EM 3000 multibeam echosounder at Riley’s Hump and Miller’s Ledge, located in the northern and central part of the reserve. Resulting data were used to produce basemaps to obtain geological ground truth and visual surveys of biological communities, including reef fishes. Visual surveys were conducted using SCUBA and the Phantom S2 Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at Riley’s Hump. Visual surveys were conducted using the ROV and the Deepworker 2000 research submersible along Miller’s Ledge, within and outside of the reserve. A total of 108 fishes were recorded during SCUBA, ROV, and submersible observations. Replicate survey transects resulted in over 50 fishes documented at Miller’s Ledge, and eight of the top ten most abundant species were planktivores. Many species of groupers, including scamp (Mycteroperca phenax), red grouper (Epinephelus morio), snowy grouper (E. niveatus), speckled hind (E. drummondhayi), and Warsaw grouper (E. nigritus), are present in the sanctuary. Numerous aggregations of scamp and a bicolor phase of the Warsaw grouper were observed, indicating the importance of Miller’s Ledge as a potential spawning location for both commercially important and rare deep reef species, and as a potential source of larval recruits for the Florida Keys and other deep reef ecosystems of Florida

CC96-396 Productcion Flexibility Contracts: Provisions, Implications and the Participation Decision

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127) was signed into law by President Clinton on April 4, 1996. Most provisions of the new law, including the commodity provisions, will be effective for seven years, 1996-2002. Unlike previous farm bills, provisions relating to commodity supports are grouped together under what is known as the Agricultural Market Transition Act (AMTA) program. Producers of seven commodities: corn, sorghum, barley, oats, wheat, rice and cotton must sign Productive Flexibility Contracts (PFCs) to participate in the AMTA. These seven commodities are referred to as "contract commodities." This publication focuses on the PFCs, beginning with an overview of contract provisions. Potential short- and long-run implications of PFCs are then discussed.

An Economic Comparison of Rotational Grazing Systems to Eight Crop Alternatives and the CRP Option for Highly Erodible Land in Southwest Iowa

Economic comparisons of income on highly erodible land (HEL) in Adams County were made utilizing five years of grazing data collected from a 13- paddock intensive-rotational grazing system and a four-paddock rotational-grazing system and four years of data collected from an 18-paddock intensive-rotational grazing system, all at the Adams County CRP Research and Demonstration Farm near Corning. Net income from the average grazing weight-gain of Angus-sired calves nursing crossbred cows was compared to the net income from grazing yearling steers, to the net income of eight NRCS-recommended crop rotations, and to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) option. Results of these comparisons show the 13-paddock intensive rotational grazing system with cow-calf pairs to be the most profitable alternative, with a net return of $19.86 per acre per year. The second most profitable alternative is the CRP option, with a net return of $13.09 per acre, and the third most profitable option is the fourpaddock rotation with cows and calves with a net return of $12.53 per acre. An 18-paddock system returned a net income of $2.47 per acre per year with cows and calves in 1993, but lost an average of $107.69 per acre each year in 1994 and 1995 with yearling steers. Each year, the steers were purchased high and sold low, contributing to the large loss per acre. The following recommended crop rotations all show net losses on these 9-14 % slope, Adair-Shelby Complex soils (ApD3): continuous corn; corn-soybean rotation; corn-soybean rotation with a farm program deficiency payment; corn-corn-corn-oats-meadow-meadow rotation with grass headlands; continuous corn to “T” with grass headlands and buffer strips; continuous corn to “T” with grass headlands, buffer strips, and a deficiency payment; corn-corn-oats-meadow rotation to “T”; and corn-soybeans-oats-meadow-meadow-meadow-meadow rotation to “T”. Per-acre yield assumptions of 90 bushels for corn, 30 bushels for soybeans, 45 bushels for oats, and four tons for alfalfa were used, with per-bushel prices of $2.40 on corn, $5.50 on soybeans, and $1.50 on oats. Alfalfa hay was priced at $40.00 per ton and grass hay at $33.33 per ton. The calf weight-gain in the cow/ calf systems was valued at $.90 per pound. All crop expenses except land costs were calculated from ISU publication Fm 1712, “Estimated Costs of Crop Production in Iowa - 1995.” Land costs were determined by using an opportunity cost and actual property tax figures for the land at the grazing site. In preparation for the end of the CRP beginning in 1996, further economic comparisons will be made after additional grazing seasons and data collection. This project is an interagency cooperative effort sponsored by the Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee which has special permission from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to use CRP land for research and demonstration.

Intensive Rotational Grazing of Steers on Highly Erodible Land at the Adams County CRP Project

Grazing yearling steers is one way to utilize the forages required for participation in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) after CRP contracts expire. In 1995, a stocker-steer intensive-rotational grazing study was conducted at the CRP Research and Demonstration Project near Corning, Iowa. A similar study was carried out in 1994. Seventy-five yearling crossbred steers grazed a 65- acre pasture that had been divided into 27 paddocks using electric fencing from May 4, 1995 to September 14, 1995. During this period, the 65-acre pasture system produced 9,975 animal-days of grazing and 11,403 pounds of gain. On a per-acre basis, this translates to 153.5 animal-days of grazing and 175.4 pounds of gain. The stocking rate was constant for the entire 133- day grazing season at 1.15 steers per acre. On May 4, 1995, the beginning of the grazing season, the average weight of the steers was 495.7 pounds. By the end of the grazing trial on September 14, 1995, the average weight of the steers had increased to 647.7 pounds. The average gain per steer during the 133-day grazing period was 152 pounds, and the average daily gain per steer was 1.14 pounds. The average bodyweight of the steers during the entire grazing season was 571.7 pounds.

An Innovative Family Preservation Program in an African American Community: Longitudinal Analysis

This paper presents a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal evaluation of a community-based family preservation program in Portland, Oregon, designed for and by African Americans. Families served by the Family Enhancement Program (FEP) resemble chronically neglecting families in terms of numbers of children and length of contact with child protective services. Six- and twelve-month follow-ups for FEP clients were compared to data on families served by the Oregon State Office of Services to Children and Families (SOSCF). The author found that FEP families are more likely than SOSCFfamilies to show greater improvement between the pretest scores and the posttest scores for number of days in placement, number of placements, and number of founded maltreatment reports.

Candidate Conservation Agreements to Minimize Military Conflicts with Wildlife Laws: The Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

The proposed Endangered Species Act listing of the gopher tortoise has the potential to impact the military mission at installations in the southeastern United States. Candidate Conservation Agreements with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could be a tool to promote conservation and potentially preclude listing. This project identified military activities that could be affected and determined that military natural resources managers are unsure if such an agreement would prevent impacts to the military mission or impose the same restrictions as federal listing. This project found that if a gopher tortoise Candidate Conservation Agreement can be developed such that it benefits the species as well as the military, it should be used as a model for other species.

Senior Companion Program : operations handbook.

"SCP handbook 4405.91."

Wings of hope : the U.S. Air Force and humanitarian airlift operations /

Mode of access: Internet.

Evaluation of the Musculoskeletal Diseases Program.

Mode of access: Internet.

Answers to questions about the National Flood Insurance Program.

Shipping list no.: 99-0035-P.

The U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II : D-Day 1944, air power over the Normandy beaches and beyond / c Richard P. Hallion.

Shipping list no.: 94-0188-P.