WMOD00085

• Contract/Permit #: #96-5
• Applicant: Southern Colorado Farms
• Project Name: Southern Colorado Farms
• Date: 1/1/1996
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Public Hearing

Jul-,Q2-96 11:58A

P.07

economic benefit to the people of the state of Colorado, preserving
the jobs of those who deal in the harvesting and marketing of these
crops. The state of Colorado is further benefitted by protecting
its reputation as a producer of fine spinach, head lettuce and
potatoes so that the buyers throughout the United States may rely
on the Colorado producers for their supplies of those products.
The ability to furnish those products free of hail damage,
substantially increases Colorado's stature as a viable economic
producer. The testimony indicated that if the present hail problem
continues unimpeded that the market place may reject Colorado as a
source for quality spinach and lettuce and seek a source of those
products from competing producing areas in the United states;
thereby depriving the people of the state of Colorado of the
economic benefit that would flow from the harvesting and marketing
of those crops. It was uncontradicted that,hail is a substantial
peril; 'purther'uncontradicted that Colorado's reputation in the
market place is in jeopardy.

2) The second issue IS the oroiect scientificallY and technicallY
feasible? In this regard the testimony of Michael John Eggers
showed this to be a technology that has been in use for a
considerable period of time and has been perfected to control the
hazard of hail inside a circle of a radius of 500 meters
surroundin9 the hail cannon. The testimony further indicated that
the technology has been employed in Clovis, New Mexico. The
first hail cannon produced such dramatic results that the owner
purchased a second hail cannon to further enhance his area of
protection. No testimony was offered at the hearing that
contradict the testimony offered by Michael John Eggers that this
is technically and scientifically feasible and further
substantiated by the testimony of Victor Smith that his examination
of users of the hail cannon in New Zealand substantiated Michael
John Eggers claims of effectiveness for the ten years time it has
been in use in that country.

A great deal of time was spent by the Cattlemens group, it was,
difficult to determine exactly what they might be protesting. They
complained of the existing drought at considerable length and at an
even further length complained of the usage of silver iodide in
cloud seeding. A great deal of time was also utilized in
describing the supposed ongoing cloud seeding by air, supposedly
continuing from 1972 to the present date. Probably the most
illuminating comment in this area came from David Ford, Colorado
State Aaricultural Commission member who suggested to the hearing
officer that the hearing be confined to the issues raised in the
application for the permit and excluding testimony of cloud seeding
and silver iodide usage. While the hearing officer did not rule on
this it demonstrates our previous statement that all of the
testimony by the so called protestants were immaterial and
irrelevant. A certain amount of the testimony offered by the
protestors was incompetent, in that also we would submit in this
statement that none of the testimony relating to the above subjects
of drought or silver iodide usage can be considered in passing on
this application nor can those persons be considered as protestors