Environmental Conservation

America’s farmlands are shrinking. Between 1997 and 2018, the US lost 98,000 square miles (627,200,000 acres) of farmland. While some of this is due to development and urban expansion, some of it is simply because farmland is abandoned.  Farmland is abandoned for a number of reasons. It may suffer from damaged soil, resulting in low crop yields that simply aren’t’ worth the

All CRP contracts come to an end, but that doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to the program. Even if your initial plan was to return to crop production after you contract expires, you may come to realize it isn’t the best idea for your situation.  After all, reverting CRP back to crop production is a very involving process with no guarantees.

There’s no question that CRP is a long-term commitment, with contracts lasting 10-15 years. This timeframe is necessary for the restorative measures of CRP to take effect. Still, as far out as it might seem, there will come a day when your CRP contract reaches its end.   The question at this point becomes what will you do now?  To continue generating profit from the

Since launching with the 1985 Farm Bill, the Conservation Reserve Program has set out to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and restore wildlife habitat. It does so by paying farmers and landowners to take marginal farmland out of active production.  In place of traditional farm crops, which can deplete soil health and fertility overtime, farmers establish

Farmers have long employed various methods to disrupt soil, using sticks, hoes, ards, rakes, and plows to turn the ground and prepare farmland. This is process is known as tillage.   Tillage serves a number of purposes including seed bed preparation, burying crop residue, leveling soil, spreading nutrients, mixing in fertilizer, and activating pesticides. It’s also very helpful with

Growing the same crops in the same spot year after year can take a toll on soil, depleting it of certain nutrients and leaving it unbalanced. As the soil’s health decreases, water runoff and erosion increases, damaging the soil further. Ultimately, this results in weaker crop yields.  Farmers have long employed techniques to combat this.  One of the more aggressive methods of keeping soil balanced

In 1929, the United States stock market crashed, kickstarting a decade long period known as the Great Depression. The exact causes for this crash are heavily debated to this day, though common factors typically include overproduction of crop and industrial materials, overpricing of stock values, and easy credit/loan practices.   Farmers were already in a tough spot leading

This past month, we’ve been examining the effects that agriculture and the environment can have on each other. While farming does immeasurable good for people around the world, certain modern practices can take a toll on soil, water supplies, animal habitat, carbon emissions, and more.   Meanwhile, changes in the earth’s climate have caused disruption to the seasons and cycles that