An Urban's Rural View

In the polarized world of ideological combat, big commercial farmers and environmentalists are enemies. In this world's name-calling skirmishes, the aggies are greedy polluting factory farmers, the enviros evil schemers and impractical dreamers.

In the more give-and-take real world, the two sides often join forces.

That's because both know that what's good for the environment often turns out to be good for the bottom line. Productivity gains and cost savings go hand in hand with reduced erosion and runoff, lower carbon emissions and improved wildlife habitat.

South Dakota rancher Chad Weiszhaar is living proof of that.

Working with Ducks Unlimited, Weiszhaar tweaked his grazing practices to preserve wetlands and build wildlife habitat. The result, according to a DTN/The Progressive Farmer story (http://tiny.cc/…), was higher-quality mixed-grass prairie forages and a 0.2 pound increase in the average daily gain of his heifers, to 1.6 pounds.

Over seven years, Weiszhaar and Ducks Unlimited found that the best results for both cattle weight gains and birds was a rotation subjecting 25% of the paddocks to "twice-over moderately intense grazing" while leaving 75% undisturbed. The paddocks averaged 160 acres.

The Weiszhaar family's 13,700-acre ranch includes 2,600 acres in corn, alfalfa, wheat, soybeans and other row crops. Another 7,000 acres are now enrolled in easements guaranteeing that wetlands and grasslands will be maintained indefinitely. There are no restrictions on grazing timing, stocking rates or other grazing utilization of the acres.

The rancher is pleased. "These grazing practices really leave grasses in the best possible health just prior to dormancy," Weiszhaar told DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "That ensures better forage quality and more diverse grass species, while it creates excellent nesting conditions for ducks and grassland songbirds."

Ducks Unlimited is pleased, too. "Through our Revolving Land Strategy program we're assisting South Dakota's ranchers in identifying small changes in grazing practices that can have a beneficial impact on pothole habitat and waterfowl production," said Ducks Unlimited's Randy Meidinger.

Economic and conservation values don't always dovetail so perfectly, of course. But they often do. Examples from the DTN/PF archives abound:

-- Iowa farmer Jim Andrew no-tills to squeeze equipment cost out of his operation while minimizing soil erosion and runoff (http://tiny.cc/…).

-- Indiana hog producers Mike and Dave Beard manage manure for profit while minimizing runoff and odor (http://tiny.cc/…).

-- The Koepke family's crop-and-dairy farm in Wisconsin (http://tiny.cc/…) uses a mix of practices -- no-till, cover crops, manure spreading and a six-year-three-crop rotation, among them -- to limit erosion and runoff to levels so low they're barely measurable. Its dairy herd gets 50% more milk per cow than the national average.

Nor is Chad Weiszhaar alone in profiting from partnering with a conservation group:

-- Working with California Audubon, the Nature Conservancy and USDA, rice farmers in California get paid for keeping water in their fields instead of burning them after harvest; they clear straw and create habitat for migrating shorebirds at the same time (http://tiny.cc/…) (http://tiny.cc/…) (http://tiny.cc/…).

-- A corn farmer on Nebraska's Platte River agreed with the Nature Conservancy to an easement on his land that encourages him to keep the land in corn, so the migrating Sandhill Cranes can eat the stubble on their way through in March (http://tiny.cc/…).

-- Nebraska's Nature Conservancy also gave a hardworking young Nebraska family a chance to realize their dream of becoming ranchers (http://tiny.cc/…). The conservation group leased the beginning ranchers 3,200 acres in the Sandhills for five years, arranged for them to be mentored by other ranchers and finally sold them the land with a conservation easement.

Environmental values and economic values don't always overlap so neatly, to be sure. No doubt commercial farmers could cite cases to justify distrust of environmental groups -- just as environmental groups could cite examples supporting distrust of commercial farmers.

But as Chad Weiszhaar and Ducks Unlimited and many other farmers and environmentalists can attest, distrust can blind people to opportunities to cooperate for mutual advantage. It would be a shame if the world of ideological warfare became the only world.

(CZ)

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