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There are over
2.5 million acres of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in
Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Over 80 percent of the contracts are
scheduled to expire in 1997. A majority of the CRP land is located
in the low-rainfall areas particularly vulnerable to wind erosion.
Serious soil erosion problems could result if intensive tillage
and residue removal practices are used in returning CRP land to
crop production. University of Idaho and Washington State University
scientists conducted ten large-scale, on-farm research trials on
CRP take-out from 1994 through 1996 to identify profitable management
systems that minimize soil erosion and maintain soil quality improvements
gained under ten years of CRP grass cover.
Results of the
CRP take-out research trial showed that minimum tillage and direct
seeding provided higher erosion protection, better retention of
soil quality improvements and similar or higher economic returns
than with intensive tillage and residue removal systems. A Pacific
Northwest Extension publication providing detailed results of the
research trials was extensively distributed in the Northwest during
the winter of 1996-97 to help growers develop their CRP take-out
management strategies. Growers have access to the publication and
a summary video through cooperative efforts with all applicable
county offices of cooperative extension, conservation districts,
the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDA-Farm Service
Agency in the Northwest, as well as grower organizations, Ag service
industry and Ag media across the region. The publication is also
available on the World Wide Web.
For more information contact:
Hans Kok
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