The pessimists are at it again. John Palczewski of Scranton wants to ban weather mod. Besides visiting with the Director of the ND Atmospheric Resource Board, what is his actual knowledge of the program? Has he ever been hailed out? Probably not, but I know what drought is and also what hail can do. Recovering from hail damage is a lot worse than from drought.
In the early to mid-1960s we were newly married and trying to farm. I say “trying” because we had a couple years of drought and six years of being completely hailed out. One year in August the adjustor couldn’t tell which field we had just combined and we had to replace the shingles on newly shingled roofs on our house and barn. That is when we got involved in weather mod. With it the hail turned to mush rather than being destructive.
In 1983 and 1984 there were a few disgruntled farmers who were positive the planes were chasing away the rain. They refused to accept any printed handouts or to watch any videos—all with facts and figures. They just believed what they thought they could see. However, many of those who signed the petition had never suffered a hail loss. They got signatures on a petition and weather mod in Hettinger County was voted out and it also happened in Adams County.
What did weather mod cost the people in taxes? At that time in Hettinger County it was about $5.00 for a $50,000 house in town or about $2.00 to $6.00 per quarter of land annually. Today in Bowman County it is about $7.80 for a $50,000 house in town or about $8.67 for a quarter of land of similar value. Pretty cheap insurance—not even the cost of a gallon of paint or a sheet of window glass. Ask your crop insurance agent about rates for hail coverage.
Some say don’t tamper with nature. Are these same people using fertilizers, chemicals, or maybe even medication that might interfere with nature?
In 1983 the majority of weather mod was done to increase rain and lessen hail damage and I think that is still true most of the time. Every cloud is not seeded with silver iodide and sometimes the wind in the clouds makes it too dangerous for pilots and aircraft to fly. When there are no clouds, how can you expect rain? Every cloud doesn’t have rain in it and every plane in the area is not a weather mod plane as Bowman’s airport is for other planes, too! Area terrain is also a factor in rain patterns.
We now have weather reports all day on radios, phones and television. The radar in Bowman belongs to weather mod so if the program is defeated that might go, too.
Do the protesters watch the weather patterns? There is no weather mod for nine months of the year so it doesn’t affect any snowfall which affects crops, too. Drought isn’t caused just by lack of rain but also by hot south winds. I was told that during the years of 2009 to 2014 Bowman County was wetter than normal but there were no complaints then and that it is nearly average now.
Weather mod is based on scientific facts. Non-believers have only feelings and presumptions. Which is better for your county? Study all of the facts before you vote.
- Marlene Kouba,
Hettinger County
