Letter to the Editor, submitted by Roger Neshem, Berthold and published in the Minot Daily News

Prepare for the propaganda onslaught! In the weeks to come we will be bombarded by special interest money citing all the benefits of weather modification. They will toss out numbers such as 30 to 1 and low costs of 40 cents per acre. They will site studies and evaluations that have all been said to contain “No scientifically credible evidence hail can be suppressed.”

If the proponent’s numbers were true cloud seeding would be mandated. Using the proponents’ numbers a statewide weather modification program would boost the states AG GDP by over 25%. That is an increase of over $550 million! That is beyond absurd and simply not true.

Hail loss rates going back before cloud seeding are the same as they are today. No reductions have occurred. Our precipitation increases the last 50 years lag all the counties not in the weather modification program. Why is that? It is because they use models in their studies. As we have all learned the hard way lately, a model is a great way to destroy an economy and hurt its people.

Weather modification is so ineffective no county has ever left the program only to return to attempting hail suppression. Thirty-two counties have left, none have returned. That is a horrible average. Only 5 counties out of 3,242 in the USA attempt hail suppression with all of them being in ND where hail greater than 1″ is a rare occurrence, no matter where in the state you live. The proponents don’t share this fact but both South Dakota and Montana banned weather modification in their states. If hail suppression were so great everyone would do it, but they don’t.

It is because as the National Resource Council stated in the most extensive study of weather modification ever, “There is no scientifically credible evidence hail can be suppressed.” Vote “no” on Weather Modification.