Conserving the land for future generations

My parents, Doug and Deb Yates farm just outside Cedar Rapids, Iowa and have been farming for 36 years. Before my parents retire they hope to pass the farm down to my brother Matt, so they realize the importance of conserving the land for the future. Keeping the farm in the family is very important as it has been in the family for six generations. 

To my parents, conserving the land means adding waterways. They are important because they filter runoff and reduce soil erosion.  Only part of one waterway being repaired is eligible for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CRP land is capped because of the farm bill, not because of ethanol.  My parents have chosen to put in additional waterways in the areas that aren’t eligible for CRP because they believe in protecting the land.

Beginning in 2010, CRP land was capped at 32 million acres as a result of the 2008 farm bill.  It’s impossible to get back to the all-time high of 36.8 million acres like we had in 2007 because of the cap, not ethanol as the recent Associated Press article alluded to.

Today, CRP is 29 million acres, the same amount of farm ground lost to urban sprawl since CRP was enacted.  Seeing my parents preserving the land for my brother is important because it shows the amount of respect they have for the land and the care they take to assure the food is good quality for their family and yours.