Productive Agriculture and Wildlife Habitat

Jonathon Prokott

 

In the Midwest, one of the biggest drives for local economies is agriculture.  Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of land use and provides billions of dollars worth of products.  Farming intensity at this level can change an ecosystem drastically, especially within the farm belt of a highly productive prize land region.  With land providing such a valuable resource and producing high priced farm crops such as corn and soybeans, there is no doubt that farmers will want to farm every inch of land that they can get their hands on.  Over the years, it seems to be that every pothole is tiled, tall grass prairie is tilled, and woodlots are cleared or pastured. 

When we purchased our farm back in the early nineties, every possible field was farmed and whatever couldn’t be tilled was fenced off for pasture.  In the years since buying our farm, over 50,000 trees have been planted, many of which are in CRP. The highly erodible cropped and pastured land has been replaced with selective timber harvesting, irregular shaped fields, grassed waterways, riparian stream management, small grains, rotational grazing, wind breaks, shelter belts, and more.  Now instead of farming all of the highly erodible/wet ground and pasturing the woods, we have converted it to respected and sustainable wildlife habitat. 

My dad, being the hunter/farmer he is, wanted a good balance, so our farm changed drastically over the years that our family has owned it.  We wanted to help provide wildlife habitat in the most appropriate means, while still keeping our farm running and profitable.  Like many other landowners, our family loves to hunt, fish, trap, and enjoy the outdoors, so we wanted to recreate wildlife habitat. 

It is rewarding to see pheasants using your farm year round, and to know that if you never persisted in acknowledging the fact that you could do something to make an essential part or their habitat, they wouldn’t be there.  That goes the same for any wildlife habitat management transformation.  Maybe you or your kids love to pheasant hunt.  Maybe you love to watch songbirds, deer hunt, or waterfowl hunt.  It doesn’t take much effort to get advice on whether you could be eligible for funding to develop your plan and help implement your project.  There are a lot of people willing to work with you at your local NRCS office.  They can help you step off on the right foot and start moving in the right path. 

The Conservation Reserve Program, Working Lands Initiative, and Conservation Stewardship Program are all programs provided by departments of the federal government, in conjunction with other organizations, to help farmers alleviate financial risks.  As you can see from our farm, there is an extensive array of things that you can do to produce quality wildlife habitat.  The possibilities seem endless and the farm belt needs some of its natural ecosystems to be restored. 

My dad has always told me “If there is a will there is a way,” so if you have any thoughts about converting some of your farmland into sustainable wildlife habitat or are interested in more sustainable farming practices, give them a try. You will never know unless you give it a thought and try it.