Soil conservation problems and practices: A farmer view

Excerpt

WHAT are the major soil and water conservation concerns on your farm and in your area?.

Bob Dickinson: A big concern in our area is absentee landownership. Many absentee landlords don't want to spend money on conservation practices. They're just not that interested in conservation. They seem to figure, for example, that because their husbands or fathers farmed without terraces there's no need for them to do so.

An associated problem is that cash rent is pretty high, generally permitting only larger farmers to expand their operations. This tends to concentrate leased land in the hands of farmers who aren't much concerned with soil conservation.

Another of our problems is that too much conservation work, such as terraces and grassed waterways, are being destroyed. Add to this the fact that cost-sharing funds are less available now, and it's apparent that our problem of getting and keeping conservation practices on the land is growing.

A. K. Ellis: Wind and water erosion and soil compaction are all problems in our part of North Carolina.

Eyvind Faye: In the Sacramento River area of Yolo County, California, where I farm, the major problems …