Field and Garden: It's time to stop farming unproductive areas

“We’ve nothing in Iowa that compares with your Research Extension Center (REC),” said my new acquaintance. “I was amazed by what I saw last summer.”

This conversation took place several weeks ago, while I was attending the annual conference of Practical Farmers of Iowa.

On the final day of the conference, I introduced myself to a group of people at a round-table discussion about haskaps, a blueberry-like fruit that is attracting interest from an increasing number of fruit growers on the Great Plains.

When I said that I was an NDSU Extension agent living in Carrington, North Dakota, one man came over to me. “I was in Carrington during the field day at your REC last July,” he said.

The man explained that he had made the 600-mile trip to learn about Kathy Wiederholt’s research on haskaps.

Wiederholt is the fruit project manager at the REC. One of her main objectives is to evaluate the adaptability of grapes, juneberries, currants and other fruit crop species to North Dakota conditions.

The man couldn’t get over the scope of the research that was being conducted at the center. “Very impressive,” he said, “and there was great attendance at the field day too.”

The encounter with the Iowan was a reminder that sometimes we take for granted the tremendous resources we have in our own backyard.

When was the last time you attended the annual field day at the REC? It may seem like a long time in the future, but I encourage you to mark the date of this year’s field day in your calendar: Tuesday, July 18.

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My trip to the conference in Iowa was paid by a grant from the North Dakota Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

The emphasis of the conference was sustainable food production. I attended presentations about cover crops, soil carbon and the transition of farm operations from one generation to the next.

I’ve been hearing about some Iowa farmers who are planting strips of prairie grass in their fields to conserve soil and water and at the same time provide wildlife habitat.

The strips don’t occupy large areas, but I went to the conference wondering how an Iowa farmer can justify taking any amount of land out of production when land prices in parts of the state exceed ten thousand dollars per acre.

I learned that most landowners who establish prairie strips do so because they have a strong sense that it’s good for the land.

The decision can sometimes be justified economically as well. Even in Iowa, many fields have an area or two where productivity is low. Farmers may be losing money when they cultivate, fertilize and plant these spots.

With input costs going through the roof, some farmers believe it’s time to admit that these areas are never going to be productive. They’ve decided to stop farming these spots and convert them to permanent grass.

I left the conference wondering if we will ever see something similar in Foster County. That is, will we ever stop trying to farm alkali areas which lose money year after year and work to establish permanent grass in those spots?

If you would like more information about planting salt-tolerant grass in alkali areas, please contact me (jeff.gale@ndsu.edu, 652-2581).