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NEWSUnited States Department of Agriculture
March 10, 2006, Boise, ID—You’d be hard-pressed to find even the smallest of Idaho valleys untouched by conservation. Farmers, ranchers and other private landowners across the state are caring for the landscape they love. These landowners are working to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat. And many are doing it with the help of 2002 Farm Bill conservation programs. “The best stewards of the land are our private property owners,” says U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. “The Farm Bill is probably the most significant piece of environmental legislation our Congress ever works on and the conservation title not only helps our environment but it helps those who are the real stewards of the land.”
Herbst recently enrolled in the new Conservation Security Program (CSP). CSP, a program under the 2002 Farm Bill administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), rewards producers for exceptional stewardship efforts. “I am excited about the program,” Herbst says. “The incentive helps us stay and work the land rather than having to go to town and work there.” On the other side of the state, Eric Odberg, a fourth generation farmer standing among rolling hills ripening the color of the sun, grows grain and legumes on 2,200 acres near Genessee. “I am very fortunate and blessed that my great-grandfather decided to settle here and start farming,” Odberg says. “It is very rich land for dryland farming.” With the help of another 2002 Farm Bill program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program or EQIP, Odberg recently switched to direct-seeding to reduce soil erosion, and improve soil quality and crop yields. With direct seeding—or no-till—a producer plants the next crop into the previous year’s crop residue, reducing soil erosion and decreasing the farmer’s fuel and maintenance costs. However, producers have to buy new farm equipment to get started.
The Herbst and Odberg stories are only two of literally hundreds of Idaho success stories where private landowners utilized Farm Bill programs to jumpstart their conservation activities. Idaho NRCS administered over $22 million in Farm Bill conservation monies in 2005 alone, and over $70 million since 2002. “Society demands cleaner air, water and better soils,” says Richard Sims, NRCS state conservationist in Boise. “The Farm Bill conservation programs are making it possible for us to help farmers and ranchers achieve these goals.” The success stories abound:
The Idaho NRCS recently produced a new video celebrating these conservation achievements. Over a dozen farmers, ranchers and private landowners are featured. The video is available by calling Jody Fagan, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 208-685-6978. Interested landowners are encouraged to visit their local NRCS Service Center to learn more about available conservation programs. For more information, visit www.id.nrcs.usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. |
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Such
stewards include Salmon rancher Steve Herbst of Nelson Angus Ranch. Herbst and
his family raise purebred black angus cattle on a green-grass ranch overlooking
the town of Salmon. Their most recent conservation activities include increasing
efficiency with irrigation water management, controlling soil erosion using
sediment basins, protecting wildlife such as game birds and deer through delayed
haying, and maintaining healthier pastures with a rotational grazing system for
their cattle. 
“The
EQIP cost share program allowed me to reduce the risk of starting direct seeding
on our farm,” Odberg says. “My whole goal is to be able to leave the resource
here as good as when I started farming it. Hopefully better.”
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