Diversifying the Farm and Protecting Water Quality
By Nick Machinski
It’s morning, but stillness and the beating sun rising over the trees signal that the day will be a hot one. I pull up to Bristle Farms where Brad Bristle and his dog greet me. Coffee in hand we load into his truck and set out to the field. We catch up, I learn how the wheat is looking as he’ll be harvesting later that day. He tells me that it is looking good, moisture has been low, so there is little concern about it sprouting which happens in wetter years. Soon though we are off the road and driving at a field’s edge. We step out and admire the newly installed filter strip Brad planted along a wetland.
Filter strips are established at the border of a field, typically along a body of water such as a drain, creek or, in Brad’s case, a wetland. Planted with a variety of native grasses, forbs and legumes, the vegetation traps any sediment coming off the farm field. But the roots, which can go down a dozen or more feet into the earth, also take in any nutrients that may be traveling through the soil profile and towards the wetland. Now, these filter strips are usually established with federal funds and are only allowed to be mowed to deter woody vegetation from growing. There isn’t supposed to be any removal of the material to be used as food or fuel because that is seen as the farmer making a profit off of a practice paid for by tax dollars.
There are a few issues with this line of thinking. First, is that conservation practices need to be profitable not only for the environment, but also the farmer. When a contract runs out on a practice, there is nothing preventing a filter strip being ripped out if the farmer decides to plant more corn acres because the price is so appealing. If a farmer can make money on a practice, they are more likely to keep it in place long term. Moreover, if the vegetation that is mowed is not taken away, it just decomposes there on the filter strip, releasing all the nutrients that the plant took up. Eventually, the filter strip becomes saturated with nutrients and no longer serves its intended purpose of protecting water quality.
Chickory, Clover, Alfalfa, Oats and Ryegrass make up the mixture of Brad's harvestable buffer. The buffer will protect against erosion, filter nutrients and will be harvested for livestock feed.
But this filter strip is a bit different. The plants within it are closer to what is seen in a hay field because it is a harvestable buffer. This practice allows the vegetation to be harvested once or twice a year, taking nutrients with them, and then fed to livestock. This recycles the nutrients into the farming system and keeps them out of our waterways. It’s a win-win for all, the farmer makes a little hay, and the water quality is improved.
Brad’s harvestable buffer needs to stay in place for five years under an agreement, so only time will tell if the practice has staying power. Market forces may work against it one day. But if the buffer produces a decent crop on what is often marginal ground for corn or soybeans, it stands a good chance. In the meantime, it’s going to be filtering out sediments and nutrients to keep our water a little healthier.