As I stop to reflect on the 75th Anniversary of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service agency, I think about the functions it serves to the American public. You may see these detailed on many posters and other publications through media outlets and in service centers within most counties. Having worked for the agency for 40 percent of those years, one function that is most often overlooked and one of the most important, is the value of conservation planning. This is a free service that assists a landowner in setting achievable goals, developing alternatives to get there and then documenting a planned course of action to follow.
Where do you really want to be in 3 to 5 years? We all have some notion of that in our head, whether conscious of it or not. While some just whine about what life has dealt them, others are determined to take control and make it happen and make a plan. Realistic goals are thought out in the case of conservation, with an idea of resource capabilities and sustainability in mind. For example, long term annual cropping on rocky, droughty, erosive Ozark soils is not really a good option. But we grow very good permanent pastures and live in a very enviable region of the United States for moisture and temperature balance.
Alternatives and treatment plans vary greatly based on the original goal and amount of inputs one wants to invest. Based on the goal above, we are often involved in planning grazing systems that allows the rotation of pastures and reduces haying needs. Ultimately, these also result in both time and dollar savings down the road.
Now is an excellent time to begin your plan for what will happen in the next 5 years on your place. By starting now, your plan will already be in place for when you may want financial assistance to help make it happen. Both federal and state cost share programs are in between funding years right now. Both will achieve many of the same goals at similar rates, so shopping for one program or the other is not a purpose. There are some minor differences in eligibilities and cost share practices. For example, the state cost share program requires the operator to attend a regional grazing school before allowing cost share on grazing systems. One such school is being offered at Halfway in May on a first paid first reserved basis. Another example is that cost share for stockpiling fescue and winter strip grazing is only offered through the federal EQIP program.
To set your conservation planning in motion or to answer other questions, please contact the Dallas County Service Center at 1225 S. Ash in Buffalo, Mo., or call us at 417-345-2312 ext 3, or your county’s service center.
Myron Hartzell
NRCS Grassland Specialist
