By Kris Vance
This Friday, meet Tim Wilson of Indiana, where he and his family grow corn and soybeans on more than 2,200 acres in Fountain and Montgomery counties. Over the last five years, the family has dedicated 23 of those acres to wildlife and pollinator habitat, helping improve the biodiversity on their operation while also improving their return on investment.
The Value of CRP
Like many producers across the Midwest, the Wilsons realized farming every acre doesn’t always make sense. The outer edges of their fields shaded by woods, damaged by wildlife, or hampered by poor soils were holding back profitability. Those marginal acres were costing him, not earning.
“The yield loss is so dramatic around these edges,” Tim said. “We needed to figure out a way to make those fields work for us.”
Tim found a solution in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). The voluntary conservation program helps producers and landowners generate income from unproductive or marginal cropland while re-establishing valuable land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and support wildlife habitat.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical expertise, while partners offer additional support with management.
Source : farmers.gov