00:00:02.690 - 00:00:21.600

Male voice 1: Running lips. Female voice: Like with Elmer Fudd. You know like with regular interviews where it's a program, not just cut and editing. Okay, where do I want to start? How old are you? Male voice 1: Thirty. Female voice: What's your occupation?

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Male voice 1: Data communications analyst. [Microphone tapping] Male voice 2: Day cut for Luna I. Mishoe. President Luna Mishoe: Evening, ladies and gentlemen. Secretary Chandler comes

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to this higher office with extensive executive experience in both government and the private business sector.

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And with a distinguished record of service to the community and to the state. His executive experiences include being president of

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six major Delaware corporations in the field of agriculture, investment, counseling, construction, and real estate.

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Secretary Chandler has also served as mayor for the City of Dagsboro and as a member of the Sussex County Council.

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He was appointed by Governor Pierre du Pont to the task for the executive recruitment for the state of Delaware. Secretary Chandler's record

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of civic and community activities include his service as a member of the Board of Education of the Indian River School District and

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the Board of Directors of Delaware Wildlands Incorporated. It has been a real pleasure for me to introduce

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the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary Bill Chandler: Thank you, Dr. Mishoe for that kind introduction. In fact, after an introduction

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like that I can't hardly wait to hear what I'm going to have to say. [Coughs] But I do want to thank Dr. Mishoe and Dr. Belford

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for asking me here tonight. I would add that it's an honor to be seated here with Dr. Mishoe. who is recognized throughout

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the state as one of the pillars of Delaware state College. His accomplishments on behalf of the college are well-known and I think

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deserve our special thanks. In fact, I think it would be appropriate at this time if we had a round of applause for Dr. Mishoe. [Applause]

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Soon after Governor Castle asked me if I would consent to serve in his cabinet post and after I decided to do it,

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I began to run into the usual amount of jokes, wise cracks from your friends. We live in a little town downstate, Dagsboro, four-hundred people,

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fifty miles from Dover, which means fifty miles up, and fifty back, that's a hundred-mile commute each day. But anyway, one of my

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friends soon after I was appointed in the post office one morning said, "Well, Bill," he said, "Congratulations on being appointed

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Secretary of Agriculture." He said, "I had heard that the Governor was looking for real dirt farmer. And I guess you must have been

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the dirtiest one that he could think of." [Audience laughs] That's the kind of thing you have to listen to. But in the short time, a couple months that I've been

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in this position, I've attended I could not begin to tell you how many agricultural dinners, agricultural breakfasts, a number of agriculture meetings

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and at most of those affairs they expect you to make a few remarks, and usually they want you to tell an Ag story.

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I guess I've told my share. But I do recall a story that actually was supposed to have happened this past winter,

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down in Sussex County concerning a farmer who had a farm located along a dirt road. And in the dirt road in front

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of his farm, there was a large mudhole. So one morning a motorist was stuck in that mudhole. And so the farmer took his tractor,

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went down, hooked on to the vehicle, and pulled it out. The motorist asked the farmer how much he owed him, and the farmer said "Five dollars." So the motorist said, "Well, that

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seems reasonable enough." So he paid him the five dollars. And then the motorist asked the farmer a question. He said,

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"How many vehicles do you pull out of this mudhole in a day's time?" The farmer said, "Well, we're averaging about twelve or fifteen a day." So the motorist said,

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"Well, you're doing pretty good then." He said, "Do you pull out any at night?" The farmer said, "Oh no, we're real busy at night hauling water to put in the mudhole." [Audience laughs]

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Is this mic working all right? Can you all hear me in the back? Up a little? Better? Okay. Now, I hesitate

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to ask that question once in a while because a few weeks back I did that same thing. I said, "Is the mic working all right?

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Can you hear me in the back?" And a fella in the back said, "No, I can't hear a word." And when he said that, a lady sitting in the front row, she said, "Well I can hear

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every word he says. How would you like to trade places?" [Audience laughs] But, you know, at first I was flattered by

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this invitation to give the keynote address this evening. But then that feeling soon gave way to outright fear when I realized that there was no canned speech

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that I could rely on to cure any insomniacs who may happen to be in the audience. So I thought instead that I would offer a few observations

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about the future role that I see for the Department of Agriculture and the Department's goal under my direction.

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You know, it would be easy to stand up here and talk about the severe financial problems being faced by some in the farming community.

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In Delaware to some extent, but more so in the Midwest and other areas of the country. But that story we can tune in to

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on any given night of the week, just by watching Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw. But it is a serious story. And one that is caused

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by high interest rates, a big federal deficit, dwindling exports, and a sometimes fickle Mother Nature. But as Delaware's Secretary of Agriculture,

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there's not a whole lot that I can do about those kind of problems, except talk about them. And my wife can testify that I do my share of that.

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In fact, she's with me this evening, and I'm kind of glad, because she keeps me straight. She says I talk too fast, that I should slow down,

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and I try to do that. But I remind her now and then that there can be problems with being slow too.

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Because I remember a state trooper who stopped a lady doing fifty miles an hour in a twenty-mile zone, and he took her in before the judge.

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And the judge asked her, "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?" And the lady said, "I plead not guilty, Your Honor."

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She said, "I wasn't doing fifty miles an hour, nor forty, nor thirty. "In fact," she said, "I wasn't doing twenty miles an hour.

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In fact," she said, "I wasn't doing ten miles an hour. I was almost standing still." And the judge banged his gavel down.

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He said, "Guilty." Fines her ten hours and cost. He said, "Lady, I had to stop you before you went any further. First thing you know, you're going to back into somebody."

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[Audience laughs] So there are problems with being too slow. But there are problems with being too fast like I am sometimes too.

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Because I also remember an instance that happened in our church some years back. We had a part of our service that involved reciting the twenty-third Psalm

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in unison, the congregation. Can you all still hear back there properly? Okay, I won't ask anymore. But in our service,

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the congregation recited the twenty-third Psalm in unison. And we had a lady in our church in the choir who talked fast like I do,

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and she also talked loud. And so on this particular Sunday, we were reciting the twenty-third Psalm. She was out in front like she usually was,

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and we had a visitor that day standing next to me. And after we'd finished the twenty-third Psalm, he nudged me in the ribs and said, "Who was the lady," he said,

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"was leading us beside the still waters when the rest of us were still lying down in green pastures?" So there's a problem talking

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too fast too, I guess. But as far as the problems facing the farming community, I think that my department,

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that what my department can do really is to help brace and prepare the farming community for some of the changes and shocks which

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these outside forces may cause. Let me just mention briefly three or four areas that we need to give thought to,

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and that I think will guide much of the department's efforts in the future. First is a renewed commitment

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to the excellence of Delaware's farm products. Our broiler industry is noted as a flagship enterprise throughout the world.

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And that same name-brand superiority claimed by Frank Perdue's oven stuffer should be translated to other Delaware commodities,

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from the mushrooms grown in Hockessin to the fruits and vegetables grown in Sussex County and Kent County. And we need to emphasize

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those products that in the past have lacked a coordinated marketing effort. And we need a more sophisticated program to educate

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Delawareans on the quality of locally grown products. Our farmers, packers, and processors all will benefit from a better job

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of advertising right here at home. Second, the department will be working with every level of government

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in an effort to preserve our prime farmlands. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me for one arm of government to be trying to save

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our farmers from financial ruin, while another arm of government adopts policies that make farmlands more valuable for other uses.

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Our prime farmlands are vital natural resources. They're as critical to our survival as any resource that you can think of.

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To ensure that our farmlands are here to serve and sustain future generations, the department needs to be in the forefront of cooperative efforts

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with the federal and local governments to that end. Perhaps the key element in this effort will be assuring continued prosperity

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in the farm sector. If net incomes from farming keep pace with other potential land uses, then our farmers will be competitive,

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and our best farmlands will stay farmlands. Third, there is a growing recognition of problems regarding water quality, water allocation, and solid waste disposal.

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Part of the difficulty has been collecting reliable data on the actual extent to which agriculture has contributed to these problems.

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I'm not sure yet how that will be resolved. But I think it's clear that the farming community will have to lead the way in finding solutions

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and in managing the extent of the problem. The search for those solutions is another area where I believe that you'll see the Department of Agriculture,

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in tandem with the Department of Natural Resources, lead the way. I saw it, hon.

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I told you my wife tries to take care of me and I just looked over, and she went [click] like that. That's the signal. And I knew

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what it meant because she's done it before. And it stands for, you know, she threw me a kiss. K-I-S-S. And if she smiles at me when she does that,

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it means "keep it short, sweetie." If she glares at me when she does that, it means "keep it short, stupid."

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But it all comes out the same way. She read a little thing one day somewhere, written by Mark Twain, who made a comment that

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no speech can be entirely bad if it's short enough. And she believes that. So in conclusion, or finally,

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one of the most important tasks that I see facing the Department is to assume a larger role in educating the public about the problems

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and issues facing the agricultural community in Delaware. That's more than just a Public Relations job. And it goes beyond emphasizing the quality

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of Delaware's farm products or stressing the importance of our prime farmlands. We need to raise

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people's consciousness about the central importance of agriculture, not only to our economy, but to our survival.

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If you want to think about trends and where we might be headed, consider this. At the beginning of this century, farmers represented one third

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of the entire labor force. Today, farmers are less than three percent of the workforce. In fact, I read recently that the number

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of full-time employees of of our universities and colleges had surpassed our entire agricultural labor force. And I think this statistic

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illustrates a point or two. It illustrates a dramatic shift in the nature of our society. And it also shows how ninety-seven percent

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of us are dependent on how three percent of us get along. So one of the Department's principal jobs is to elevate the level of public consciousness about the health

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and welfare of our farming economy. I hope that we will have advanced that effort a little bit here this evening. Again, I would like to thank

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Dr. Mishoe and Dr. Belford for asking me. And I am grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for making this program possible.

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Because I think it is good for Delaware state College. I think it is good for the Department of Agriculture,

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and good for the state of Delaware. And I thank you very much for your kind attention. I'm through. [Audience applauses] And now at this time,

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it is an honor and a pleasure for me to introduce our second speaker on the program. The man in our department who is the most knowledgeable agriculture

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specialist that I've ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with. The man who is the manager of our

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Ag Land Preservation section, the articulate Michael McGrath, better known as Mr. Words. The mic is yours. [Audience applauses] Michael McGrath: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

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My job this evening is to expand a little bit on that outline that the Secretary provided you, and I hope that I will maybe fill in

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for you a little bit the policy that Secretary Chandler wants to see our department develop over the next four years as we

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pursue these areas that he's outlined for you. Delaware's agriculture industry is well-positioned for growth.

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Our state's combination of location in the Middle Atlantic states, a blessing of outstanding soils, favorable climate,

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and abundant water means that we are now poised as a state to capitalize on the vast markets of the Middle Atlantic and Northeast regions.

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And in fact, we've been capitalizing on them for some time. And besides these natural endowments, Delaware has a reservoir

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of agribusiness leadership and a history of agricultural innovation that mean a pool of human talent as important or more so than

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the physical resources. And I think the kind of leadership that has been evidenced in this Kellogg Institute here

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at Delaware state College is indicative of this pool of human talent surrounding the agriculture industry.

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I was talking just recently with a professor at the University of Delaware whose specialty is in agricultural architecture.

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If that makes sense to you, I think it should. If you look at the architecture of Delaware and how closely it's related

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to the pursuit of farming. And he shared with me how his research recently on agricultural history has revealed that Delaware

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was a leading testing ground for new agricultural technology and the innovations of the nineteenth century. This leadership at the cutting edge

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which our state has demonstrated, was evidenced again in the twentieth century with the birth and development of the broiler industry

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in Sussex County. And most recently has again received national attention as we have led the way

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in marketing efforts in that very same industry. The Delaware Department of Agriculture, no less than any other sector of our agribusiness,

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wants to have a role in the continuing leadership position of Delaware agriculture. And that's why Secretary Chandler

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came here this evening to outline for you the policies that we'll be developing over the next four years. In defining the role for

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the Department in leadership Delaware agriculture, we'll continue to stress consumer production, protection, and product quality

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that have earned for agriculture the respect of that final judge of farmers' success, that is the consumer.

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But tonight, as Secretary Chandler did, I want to focus your attention on some policy areas that we'll be stressing over the next four years, and even beyond.

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Promotion and marketing of Delaware farm products are crucial to our future success.

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Keen competition from other sections of the U.S. and an emerging and much more capable agriculture industry overseas means that in Delaware we can no

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longer afford to rest on laurels. I think you'll agree with me that Mr. Perdue is certainly not advertising less. He's advertising more.

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And we want to pick up on that too with the addition of new staff to our department, funding and cooperative efforts with producers,

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processors, and sellers alike. We hope to reproduce the success of broiler marketing and carry it to other commodities.

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We believe this is the proven path to growth and competitive positioning. Marketing implies increased opportunities for diversification on our Delaware farms.

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And this diversification can stabilize, and even increase on farm income. We'll be seeking opportunities to increase farm income, not only

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in fruits and vegetables where we may typically think of promotion efforts taking place, but also opportunities exist

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within the cash grain sector. Increased use of double cropping is an example of such grain diversification that can in effect,

00:20:51.500 - 00:20:57.570

but more grain acres in production for the farmer. And Delaware is leading the way in conservation to it,

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which is so essential to many of our double cropping production schemes. But of course, the bottom line is the bottom line.

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And marketing and diversification in the final analysis will increase income of Delaware farmers, and this has a number of benefits

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that reach far beyond the farm gate. Next, the continued protection of our best farmland is crucial to the future

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and the success of agriculture. Much of our best land in Delaware has unfortunately been lost. By the turn of the century,

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we were predominantly a farming state. But in just recent years, for instance, in New Castle County fifty percent of that land

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that was in farming at the turn of the century, was already gone. But much good land remains in this state. Delaware has the highest percentage of land

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in farms of any state in the entire East, a statistic that often surprises people who don't think of Delaware as being a farming state.

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Retention of this land is critical to our continued market position. And we have the highest percentage of that land

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being harvested every year of any state in the Union. And the retention of such land in such intense cultivation is important,

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not only to market positions in emerging areas of vegetable and fruit production perhaps, but even in broilers.

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Since our competitive position in that important area is due in part to the availability of abundant grain nearby.

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A recent study in Maine, as elsewhere in the country, has revealed that government is still the largest converter of farmland,

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both directly and indirectly. Our Department, due in part to recent legislation, is well-equipped to cooperate

00:22:44.460 - 00:22:55.340

with other state agencies in order to coordinate policies and plans to protect our best land in Delaware from government incursions. Federal policies will be coordinated

00:22:55.340 - 00:23:02.680

through our Department under arrangements that are now being worked out with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service in the USDA.

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And we will work with counties to assist in their growing concern in recent years over farms and their loss as they deal with the private sector

00:23:12.200 - 00:23:20.270

under Delaware's governmental system. Our Department melds farmland protection very closely with marketing efforts because we're committed

00:23:20.270 - 00:23:30.650

to the proposition that higher farm income, coupled with restraint of government action is the way to protect our best farmland. We believe that this Farmland

00:23:30.650 - 00:23:38.390

Protection Program is superior to those that would spend millions of dollars to conserve a few acres. We continue to support

00:23:38.390 - 00:23:45.230

the state's policy of fair property tax assessments based on agricultural value and continue to work

00:23:45.230 - 00:23:53.480

to limit government regulation. These will ensure that government doesn't invade fair profits of farmers who can then be in a position

00:23:53.480 - 00:24:03.680

to fend off other uses for their prime land. Another policy area setting the stage for future growth will be our continued emphasis

00:24:03.680 - 00:24:15.420

by farmers on resource stewardship. Awareness about potential pollution that comes from our farms grows every day. But data on farm pollution is often

00:24:15.420 - 00:24:23.630

inadequate and many times subjective. We seek to have accurate and factual reporting. But moreover, we want to stress

00:24:23.630 - 00:24:33.540

with all concerned parties in the environmental debate, the history of the farmer's stewardship of the land and its resources,

00:24:33.540 - 00:24:43.120

and his environmental responsibility. Farmers have led the way and today in the fiftieth anniversary of conservation efforts

00:24:43.120 - 00:24:52.570

in the United states of America, we can point to numerous successes in the protection of our fragile soils, air, and water by the farmers

00:24:52.570 - 00:24:59.070

who have been given the stewardship of these resources. The protection of soil, water, and air is of the

00:24:59.070 - 00:25:05.810

greater importance to the farmer than most of us, for it is his life. At this stage, the farm community

00:25:05.810 - 00:25:14.470

in Delaware must continue to assume responsibility and leadership on policy development and the resolution of problems as they arise.

00:25:14.470 - 00:25:21.000

There are several interest groups that would like to lead and dictate in these areas of pollution control on our farms.

00:25:21.000 - 00:25:28.040

Such efforts should be resisted and the Department of Agriculture will be working in tandem with the Department of Natural Resources

00:25:28.040 - 00:25:36.260

and Environmental Control to continue past successes on into Delaware's future. Finally, I think all of these

00:25:36.260 - 00:25:44.120

issues come together in our goal to raise the public's awareness of agriculture and its vital place

00:25:44.120 - 00:25:53.570

in our state. This involves product promotion for sure, but it involves much more. It means better communication

00:25:53.570 - 00:26:00.770

with all Delawareans. These citizens have shown in a recent survey which we conducted among all adults

00:26:00.770 - 00:26:07.730

in the state of Delaware, a surprisingly favorable attitude towards farming and concern over the farmers'

00:26:07.730 - 00:26:14.800

plight on many issues. It means increased efforts to have the curriculum developed that's necessary for primary

00:26:14.800 - 00:26:21.560

and secondary schools to bring the realities of modern agriculture to every student. Teachers throughout the state have

00:26:21.560 - 00:26:29.390

shown considerable success in adapting the themes of soil conservation and agriculture, even to agricultural economics,

00:26:29.390 - 00:26:38.570

to fifth grade, sixth grade, and seventh grade students. We're working diligently with Ag in the Classroom projects to extend this curricula

00:26:38.570 - 00:26:47.960

to other schools in Delaware. It means programs like this one that move the discussion and debate of agricultural policy and practice

00:26:47.960 - 00:26:57.300

to higher education forums involving all students, even those not in an agricultural program. Our Department has a message.

00:26:57.300 - 00:27:06.970

That message is products, resource conservation, farmland protection. And that message must be translated into public policy.

00:27:06.970 - 00:27:14.840

This can only occur, I believe, based on broad public awareness and continuing support for policy alternatives that allow

00:27:14.840 - 00:27:26.660

agriculture to grow in Delaware. And Delaware agriculture can grow, just like plant growth requires a balanced fertilizer, so Delaware agriculture needs

00:27:26.660 - 00:27:35.150

a balanced blend of public policy. Our state's position as a leading agricultural state in spite of our small overall size

00:27:35.150 - 00:27:43.450

in the East cannot continue unless we're vigilant concerning the resources and the advances we've made in the past.

00:27:43.450 - 00:27:51.920

Marketing and promotion will help stabilize and increase the growers income, and higher net incomes will retain

00:27:51.920 - 00:27:59.850

farmland and blunt possible inroads due to government actions. All of this will garner public support for farmers

00:27:59.850 - 00:28:07.580

when they are responsible citizens in the environment. It all fits together. All these various policies

00:28:07.580 - 00:28:15.020

can be knitted into one coordinated policy to see Delaware agriculture grow in the future. It fits together.

00:28:15.020 - 00:28:23.020

It fits together in your life, as well as in the life of the farmer and his family. We all depend on the growth of this industry.

00:28:23.020 - 00:28:29.650

A recent study released at the University of Delaware College of Agricultural Sciences points out that

00:28:29.650 - 00:28:37.490

leading among all the states industrial sectors in terms of the economic growth that they foster in the rest of Delaware's economy,

00:28:37.490 - 00:28:44.430

we find poultry processing and poultry growing, and fruits and vegetables, and the forestry industry.

00:28:44.430 - 00:28:54.020

These things stand out as sectors of our economy that benefit every citizen by multiplying the final demand in terms of

00:28:54.020 - 00:29:01.670

income and wealth for all citizens regardless of the sector that they may be laboring in. So we all depend upon this industry,

00:29:01.670 - 00:29:09.330

this industry of agriculture. And it would be trite to mention that simply the farmer feeds us. The industry that

00:29:09.330 - 00:29:18.770

he undergirds is much more. It is our state's prosperity. Looking at that same study, we find that in terms

00:29:18.770 - 00:29:27.920

of spending dollars within Delaware, that the agriculture and related food processing industry out-distances, even the giant chemical industry,

00:29:27.920 - 00:29:37.550

by more than a million dollars in terms of expenditures within Delaware's own economy. Also looking at employment, agriculture and allied food

00:29:37.550 - 00:29:46.610

processing industries employ some six-thousand more people than the giant chemical industry. All of us in and out of

00:29:46.610 - 00:29:52.850

agriculture must view the future of Delaware together. We must be able to look through the other's eyes.

00:29:52.850 - 00:30:03.830

If the future becomes dim for our farmers, it becomes dark for all of us. This conference's theme is Agriculture and Human Values.

00:30:03.830 - 00:30:12.110

And I think it could not be more appropriate than to reflect on how the values which we all hold dear, be they as Dr. Mishoe

00:30:12.110 - 00:30:21.140

referred to the basic needs of satisfying our drives for food, shelter, and clothing, or whether they mean the values that

00:30:21.140 - 00:30:29.730

we all hold dear in a free society that are undergirded by an industry that provides the basic food of life for such a little expenditure

00:30:29.730 - 00:30:38.000

of our economic wealth. We all share in the values that are undergirded by farming. If the future becomes

00:30:38.000 - 00:30:47.810

dim in our eyes for the farmer, it becomes dark for all of us. But know that future is bright in Delaware. I believe it is full of opportunities

00:30:47.810 - 00:30:58.310

for expansion and growth in this vital industry. Dark clouds often gather on the horizon, and Secretary Chandler has referred to these. But we all can work in concert

00:30:58.310 - 00:31:06.890

to dispel these dark clouds as they arise. Be they high interest rates, a runaway federal deficit, a decrease sharply

00:31:06.890 - 00:31:13.490

in the last five years of our foreign exports. But we can dispel these together and we can dispel

00:31:13.490 - 00:31:19.760

others that rise to face agriculture and its future. Because we can make a difference in the future.

00:31:19.760 - 00:31:27.290

Because we are molding it today. As we come to a conference, an institute like this one, it gives us an opportunity

00:31:27.290 - 00:31:36.380

in agriculture to share with you, many of you are not in agriculture, what the potential and the possibilities are. And as all of us together

00:31:36.380 - 00:31:46.390

in society see this potential and possibility for agriculture and how we all share when the future is realized, then indeed, we have helped shape the future.

00:31:46.390 - 00:33:10.480

Thank you. [Audience applause] [Audience applauses] Secretary Chandler: They used to keep an eye on them until now there now down to four?

00:33:10.480 - 00:33:19.010

Three or four, something of that order. We have our Department, particularly Mike McGrath because that's his specialty is

00:33:19.010 - 00:33:28.330

Ag land preservation, and we are concerned where that impacts agriculture land, prime agricultural land to any degree.

00:33:28.330 - 00:33:36.380

At the same time, we realize that you do have to have roads. But in all of the discussions

00:33:36.380 - 00:33:45.650

that have been had with our Department it has involved trying to make sure that the minimum amount of prime Ag lands would

00:33:45.650 - 00:33:57.620

be dealt with in that bypass. Actually the route that, and I suspect our Department, and maybe I shouldn't say this,

00:33:57.620 - 00:34:09.620

but I suspect our Department would probably be most in favor of would be a upgrade of the present route. Right, Mike? Because that would impact Ag lands the least.

00:34:09.630 - 00:34:24.800

[Silence] Michael McGrath: I think one thing that you ought to bear in mind as this debate continues is that as a public agency,

00:34:24.800 - 00:34:36.110

our objective is to not only advocate for agriculture, but as Secretary Chandler alluded to, to try and advocate for the public interests.

00:34:36.110 - 00:34:43.070

Now we hope that those two are the same most of the time. And in the case of upgrading Route 13, we believe they are.

00:34:43.070 - 00:34:51.950

Is that not just agriculture, but the widest scope of interests and the public's interests, the taxpayers' interests, are well served by that alternative.

00:34:51.950 - 00:34:59.180

I mean, one of the objectives here, lest we forget it, is to try and spend the least money, to try and reduce long-range tax expenditures

00:34:59.180 - 00:35:06.980

for road maintenance and repair. And those goals are oftentimes forgotten. In the rest of the debate, which is very heated.

00:35:06.980 - 00:35:16.880

But what we also think of that idea of existing Route 13 upgrade also has things to recommend it beyond agriculture. I think that needs to be kept in mind.

00:35:16.880 - 00:35:22.940

This doesn't break down just as an agriculture versus the rest of the world or the environmentalist versus

00:35:22.940 - 00:35:29.570

everybody else or something. I think the goal here is to try and best serve the public interest as opposed to special interest.

00:35:29.570 - 00:35:47.170

And that's one way to do it. [Silence] President Luna Mishoe: I want to address the question of food and starvation in the country of Ethiopia.

00:35:47.170 - 00:35:58.440

I've had an opportunity to look at some of the resources over there and I find that they have at least land and labor.

00:35:58.440 - 00:36:10.070

They do not have technology and capital. And I was wondering if the state of Delaware and our know-how and Delaware state College and

00:36:10.070 - 00:36:17.330

the University and the state Department of Agriculture could consider a joint venture over there

00:36:17.330 - 00:36:30.410

to provide a couple of these ingredients, maybe some technology, knowledge, capital, and join it with their labor and their land, and pull them out of that situation.

00:36:30.410 - 00:36:40.570

Because agriculture has a world mission and I can't conceive of us confining our resources and our knowledge and technology

00:36:40.570 - 00:36:52.850

just to the bounds of Delaware or even the United States. [Silence] Secretary William Chandler: Well, I couldn't agree

00:36:52.850 - 00:36:59.120

more that I'd like to see even more happen and is happening in the case of Ethiopia as far as trying to do

00:36:59.120 - 00:37:06.930

anything that can be done to help those starving people. And of course, there are a number of things being sent from this country, but what you're speaking to is

00:37:06.930 - 00:37:18.110

some means of them uplifting their own self by some... However, you may know more about this than I, but of the articles that I've read,

00:37:18.110 - 00:37:31.990

it seems, isn't part of the real problem is Ethiopia's government. In other words, the government does not lend itself, apparently now at least,

00:37:31.990 - 00:37:44.280

to their own self-help, of helping their people. It's more a Marxist type government where the people are not able to do what they used to do even in Ethiopia.

00:37:44.800 - 00:37:54.740

But anything that can be done like you're speaking about in the matter of a joint venture. For instance, my own experience,

00:37:54.740 - 00:38:03.500

a good deal of it has been in poultry of course, and the poultryman, by reason of necessity have had to become so

00:38:03.500 - 00:38:13.910

efficient, and that's the reason I've gotten so much faith, for instance, in the poultry industry. When you consider in a world where you have people starving,

00:38:13.910 - 00:38:23.080

like they are in Ethiopia, eventually it's going to get down to where someone sits around a table and decides who gets fed and who doesn't get fed.

00:38:23.080 - 00:38:30.530

And when that happens if you take a hundred pounds of feed, the efficiency of a broiler chicken now is to a point

00:38:30.530 - 00:38:38.290

where they grow a pound of meat with less than two pounds of feed. Now I like a piece of prime rib or steak as well as anyone else.

00:38:38.290 - 00:38:45.140

But if you were to say around a table where you're talking about people starving, that we have a hundred pounds of feed

00:38:45.140 - 00:38:54.890

here, then we have an option. You can grow ten or twelve pounds of beef with that hundred pounds of feed, or you can grow fifty pounds of broiler meat.

00:38:54.890 - 00:39:01.650

Which would you rather do? I think when push comes to shove that eventually, that's what's going to happen. And that's the reason, I have a lot

00:39:01.650 - 00:39:10.340

of faith in the poultry industry. But getting back to your question. Something in terms of that kind of thing that where you have

00:39:10.340 - 00:39:18.770

real efficiency in some type of joint-- Michael McGrath: At the present time, I think probably one very visible way is that we do have

00:39:18.770 - 00:39:29.380

a Agricultural Lands Preservation Act, which gives us the responsibility, as well as all other public agencies, the responsibility for adhering

00:39:29.380 - 00:39:37.010

to certain overall guidelines in public projects and planning. And Route 13 being the most prominent example

00:39:37.010 - 00:39:44.630

of how that's supposed to work. I believe very strongly that the data indicate nationally that government is, as I said, one of

00:39:44.630 - 00:39:50.450

the large users of farmland. And I believe that if over the next couple of years we can become effective

00:39:50.450 - 00:39:57.560

in implementing these policies to protect farmland during our government planning and construction efforts that it

00:39:57.560 - 00:40:07.040

will eliminate a good deal of the loss of farmland. Another way is that we're presently working with citizens and county government,

00:40:07.040 - 00:40:14.540

especially on a Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Program, taking a national model and adapting it to Delaware,

00:40:14.540 - 00:40:24.500

where essentially we will have in each county a system whereby local decision-makers will have an objective system

00:40:24.500 - 00:40:34.160

for determining farmlands' long-term suitability for farming. So that when, say for instance, County Levy Court Commissioners are

00:40:34.160 - 00:40:40.700

faced with certain proposals for new housing or construction of certain things. They can make judgments about the quality

00:40:40.700 - 00:40:47.540

of the farmland that's being proposed for the construction. This is something as elementary as it seems, we don't really have today

00:40:47.540 - 00:40:54.230

is a method for helping decision-makers with that predicament. And they're basically left with not much to make

00:40:54.230 - 00:40:59.870

a decision on many times. That's a second way. A third way is we have property tax relief for

00:40:59.870 - 00:41:07.640

agriculture in Delaware. The Farmland Assessment Act of 1968 provides for differential assessment of farmland

00:41:07.640 - 00:41:14.980

in Delaware based on its value for agriculture, as opposed to the normal way of assessing land in this state for property taxes,

00:41:14.980 - 00:41:22.510

which is highest and best use or market value. There have been a series of debates lately about that Act,

00:41:22.510 - 00:41:30.860

because, in New Castle County especially, with the cash grain situation being what it is over the past few years, with little if any profit

00:41:30.860 - 00:41:40.220

being made in that sector at times, that these farmland values have dropped to zero. And so that in New Castle County, many school districts, and the

00:41:40.220 - 00:41:50.510

County government itself of course, are being stretched right now because of virtually no taxes coming in off of farmland.

00:41:50.510 - 00:41:59.270

But again, previously those levels were up quite high in the middle 1970s. And no doubt as the cash grain market rebounds as it is,

00:41:59.270 - 00:42:08.130

it's very cyclical up and down, those values will go up again. And I guess a fourth way that I could mention that sometimes goes unnoticed.

00:42:08.130 - 00:42:15.680

But I think it's really most critical, and I like to give it a dimension, is farmers protect farmland. And that's not just

00:42:15.680 - 00:42:21.680

because they make money farming, although it's one good reason to stay in farming, and we'd like to see that happen more.

00:42:21.680 - 00:42:30.590

And that's why we're in marketing and promotion, and looking for ways to help farmers through their financial and borrowing money problems

00:42:30.590 - 00:42:37.760

that we've had here lately with high interest rates. But beyond that, farmers are an odd breed of entrepreneurs.

00:42:37.760 - 00:42:44.000

Because not only being entrepreneurs and driven by the account books, they also have a love and

00:42:44.000 - 00:42:49.400

a particular attraction for what they're doing. And many times I think that it's quite fair to say that,

00:42:49.400 - 00:42:56.930

that love and affection for the land and for farming gets translated into solid dollars. When it comes to the point of making

00:42:56.930 - 00:43:04.820

the decision of whether or not to sell to some competing use or to leave farming. Farmers are, I think,

00:43:04.820 - 00:43:12.110

unusual in business, in the business world, in that they'll hold on to a piece of land and forego literally thousands of dollars

00:43:12.110 - 00:43:22.100

in added value on their property, simply because they love farming. That I think to many of us who are cynical, and in our cynical cold way

00:43:22.100 - 00:43:28.950

of looking at things today, that seems far from us and maybe it's because we're not associated with farmers as closely as we once were.

00:43:28.950 - 00:43:34.910

This does not hardly seem real or logical to us, but I can assure you it's true. Farmers give up literally

00:43:34.910 - 00:43:40.840

millions of dollars a year in this state alone, I think just simply to stay in farming because

00:43:40.840 - 00:43:46.250

they enjoy doing it, and they want to pass that on to the next generation. So I think that's a real way too

00:43:46.250 - 00:43:52.220

that ought to be recognized. The farmland is protected, just because farmers don't make decisions many times like

00:43:52.220 - 00:43:58.850

other businesses make or would make. You give the account books of most farmers to a major corporation and most

00:43:58.850 - 00:44:07.880

of that land would be on the market tomorrow. And I think that reality alone indicates that farmers do spend a lot of their own money in a sense

00:44:07.880 - 00:44:25.000

to keep land in farming. So those are four ways. Male voice 3: Mr. McGrath, who has the final decision? Who makes the final decision in this state about land use? For example, can you, is there a--