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C-1981-008 July 23, 2010 PR-06 Page 20 of 31 and timing in a single section, and with references in other sections as warranted. Repeating the details in different sections continues to cause problems. iv. Does the temporary seed mix #3 apply to irrigated cropland? If so, revise wording in Subsection 5.4 to replace "irrigated pasture" with "irrigated cropland". If not, please remove the Seed Mix #3 references from Subsection 5.4. V. Does the discussion regarding broadcast seeding of the grass seed in Subsection 5.4 apply to irrigated cropland? If not, please remove the discussion. In general, the wording of the 3rd paragraph of Subsection 5.4 seems to apply more to pastureland seeding practices than to seeding practices for the irrigated cropland. Please amend as appropriate, with specific seeding methods described for seeding of the green manure crop and Seed Mix 7 (alfalfa and companion crop). Seed Mix 2 (Year 7 Annual Small Grain) seeding method should be described in Subsection 5.7. vi. The "Quality Standard" presented in the last paragraph of Subsection 5.5.2 should be revised, given the fact that the crop produced on the irrigated cropland is alfalfa hay. Also, given the fact that the cropland is prime farmland, the quality standard should reflect the higher management levels associated with the prime farmland designation. Please revise the first sentence of the paragraph to state: At least 85% of the relative production will be comprised of alfalfa, and no more than I % relative production will be comprised of county listed noxious weeds. Please delete the second sentence, since production success is based on total harvest (such that weeds could not be excluded), and cover is not applicable to cropland. Please revise the last sentence of the paragraph to state: For the purposes of this demonstration, a statistically adequate production sample of at least 15 clipped quadrats will be taken from the cropland bond release block just prior to P cut harvest, with alfalfa and county listed noxious weeds bagged, oven dried, and weighed separately from other species. Alternatively, the quality standard can be demonstrated based on a written evaluation from visual assessment by a qualified vegetation or agronomy professional, stating the professional opinion that alfalfa production in the subject bond release block is at least 85% of the total vegetation production, and noxious weed component is less than 1 % of the total vegetation production. The statement of professional opinion will be accompanied by a signed statement of concurrence from the landowner. vii. Subsection 5.5.3 addresses the hay harvest measurement method that would be used to demonstrate irrigated cropland production success. Two alternative methods are presented for hay production measurements. Option A applies to small bales (less than 100 pounds), and would employ field sampling, in which a minimum of 15 bales from the bond release field would be individually weighed using a field scale. Sampling would continue until sample adequacy is demonstrated. Using average bale weight thus obtained, total field production in pounds per acre would be calculated, based on total bale count and field acreage. Option A is an acceptable method; however two corrections need to be made. First, the word "may" in the 3rd sentence following the sample adequacy formula should be changed to "will" (Sampling will continue if necessary to reach sample adequacy...). Second, the final sentence of the next to last paragraph of the subsection should be deleted (Alternative procedures will require ...), since alternative statistical procedures for success demonstration would not be applicable in this situation. viii. The Option B hay production measurement approach described in Subsection 5.5.3 applies to large bales (over 100 pounds). The large bale approach would involve