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NRCS encourages care in converting grassland to grain

SPOKANE, Wash., (April 29, 2008) – With grain prices on the rise, farmers could be looking to expand their cropland acres. But USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) encourages farmers to think carefully about the potential impacts of converting grassland or idled land to crop production.

“Producers who plan to plant crops on land that has been idle should contact their local NRCS office and develop a comprehensive conservation plan that will utilize techniques and practices that are proven to protect natural resources and maintain soil health,” said Paul Scales, NRCS state resource conservationist.

“Some of that land might have been out of crop production for 20 years. During that time the soil quality has improved, erosion has been reduced, and water quality has been protected. Without proper conservation, those 10 or 20 years of progress could be undone in as little as one year,” Scales said.

The largest source of idled farm acreage in Washington is land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which is administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).  About 1.5 million acres are enrolled in CRP in Washington. But many of the CRP contracts landowners signed that typically converted those acres to grass in exchange for cash payments are expiring.

Rod Hamilton, FSA program chief, says 380,000 acres of CRP land were in contracts that either expired in 2007 or will expire by 2010. Contracts for 221,000 acres expired in 2007, and landowners decided to put about 85 percent of those acres back in CRP. That leaves nearly 31,000 acres of land in expiring or expired contracts that are subject to landowner decisions about what to do with them.

In addition, roughly 53,000 acres will no longer be eligible for CRP in counties that were given a waiver to exceed the CRP acreage cap. That waiver is not being extended.

Hamilton recommended that producers who choose to convert CRP acreage to cropland consider enrolling the most erosive portions of fields in the Continuous CRP program.

NRCS’ Scales said grazing systems may be a good alternative for some landowners because they typically have less impact on the environment than cropping systems and can help maintain the wildlife benefits that many people have come to appreciate about their CRP acreage. Grassland, he said, can also be profitable.

“A well-managed grazing enterprise can compete economically with crop production on many Washington farms,” Scales said.

In addition, he said, there are financial costs associated with converting grassland to crop production. “A few things to consider are the cost of fuel, pesticides, herbicides, additional time and labor demands, and getting pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium levels where they need to be to produce adequate yields on land that generally was marginally productive to begin with,” he said.

Scales recommends producers consider other sources of income that can be derived from non-cropped acreage, such as hay production or fees received in exchange for hunting rights.  Another option when converting CRP acres, he said, is to maintain the vegetative cover on the most erodible portions of the fields while initiating crop production on the remainder of the field.

“Keeping land in permanent vegetation is the best way to protect natural resources and maintain recreational benefits,” Scales said. “But if landowners decide that it’s best for them to convert the grassland to crops, we encourage them to convert in ways that will have the least negative impact on the environment. By developing a comprehensive conservation plan and by utilizing conservation tillage, crop rotations and other time-tested conservation measures, they can produce crops and still maintain soil and water resources at a sustainable level,” he said.

For information about NRCS, its programs and office locations, visit http://www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov.

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