The Agriculture Economy  ─   Conservation and Compliance

 

by Jeff Sanders, State Resource Conservationist, NRCS Kentucky

 

Lexington, Ky., November 8, 2011— The current agriculture economy is thriving.  Grain prices are doing very well.  But, how are our fields doing? 

Since the 1980s America’s farmers have made leaps and bounds in reducing soil erosion, which has also improved water quality.  What happens when agricultural commodities are doing as well as they are now? 

Most farmers incorporate some form of conservation in their agricultural operations.  Is conservation currently being maintained during the agricultural market boom?  Have you plowed your filter strips or grassed waterways in order to take advantage of every possible square yard that can produce a bushel of corn or beans?  Have you abandoned your no-till system after last year’s drought in an effort to increase infiltration rates?

According to Karen Woodrich, State Conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kentucky, it might be time to re-evaluate your conservation cropping system, and your Food Security Act Compliance plan.  Ms. Woodrich wants to remind Kentucky farmers that the Food Security Act, as amended since 1985, has not gone away.  Neither have the requirements for keeping soil erosion in check.  Although this is a voluntary requirement, farmers must be in compliance with the Food Security Act Highly Erodible Land Compliance (HELC) and the Wetland Compliance (WC) provisions in order to receive many USDA program payments. 

She emphasized, "Don’t let commodity prices cause you to jeopardize your USDA program payments."

Jeff Sanders, State Resource Conservationist, also wants to remind farmers that while conventional tillage may initially increase water infiltration rates, over the growing season the moisture in the soil profile is reduced through evaporation.  Plowing no-till fields may not only result in jeopardizing payments, but can also result in reduced yields and increased compaction due to multiple trips over the fields. 

"Don’t destroy the ecological system that you spent years restoring through your no-till process," says Sanders.  "This is not something that you can restore over a year or two, or three.  The organic matter that had been built up over the years can be lost in a very short time." 

Ms. Woodrich closed by saying, "As the agriculture economy continues to do well we need to be careful that we do not slip backwards in our conservation efforts.  American farmers lead the world in conservation, and that is a proud legacy to protect."

Woodrich encourages farmers to visit with their District Conservationist to review their conservation plan and discuss the options for their land.  You can find your local office via our on-line office locator at   http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app. For more information, visit NRCS Web site at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/