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"Pat" is our District Conservationist, Pat Larr. Pat answers many questions each day on a variety of conservation and natural resources topics. We decided to devote this page to the answers to some of those questions. You'll find some answers address very basic conservation concepts, while others are more detailed and require some understanding of conservation practices. Whichever the case, we hope we provide you with a informative (enlightening?) article.
If you have a question for Pat, click here. We will try to post all questions and answers on this page.
Pat's Archive |
What assistance is available to landowners that want to conserve our soil?
Rather than reinvent the wheel as they say, I'd like to point you to information available on the internet (some here on our site), that explains the assistance programs that are available to landowners. I've also included links to other useful soils and soil conservation information.
One last word...
Agriculture today is is far different than it was in our grandparents, or even parents, time. The 1985 farm bill, for the first time in the history of U.S. agricultural policy, linked eligibility for Federal farm program benefits to land stewardship. The compliance policies in that Act required that farmers practice a measure of soil conservation and wetlands protection in return for commodity price supports, farm loans, crop insurance, and other farm program benefits. Coupled with the cost-sharing programs, these policies have produced significant conservation gains over the past decade.
The next increment in land stewardship will occur when rural and urban dwellers realize that, as neighbors, they must share in the responsibility of taking care of the land. That action - neighbors working together - is the most promising foundation for effective land stewardship.
