Conservation Commentary

August 01, 2007

by Tom Meek, District Manager

Years ago, a newspaper clipping was displayed on the counter of a local implement dealer. “We sold our house and moved into the combine,” explained one cartoon farmer to another. Of course that’s not a practical idea – and that’s why it’s funny – but it does identify one of the biggest challenges in farming: getting a decent return from big investments.

Farm equipment does represent a big investment, as this cartoon farmer attests. But lately, the eye-popping sticker shock has been coming from land prices.

After a decade of slight increases, land values took a sharp upturn in 2005. According to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service, non-irrigated crop land in northeast Kansas moved from $1020 per acre in 2004 to $1615 per acre in 2006. And recent auction prices would indicate that the trend is still higher.

While this surge in land prices does make landowners’ balance sheets look better, it also brings added pressure to make farmland acres pay off. What can farmers do, short of “moving into the combine,” to show a good return from high priced land?

One thing that seems to have attracted interest in recent months is the conversion of grassland to cropland. On the surface, this looks like a good way to increase revenue. Referring again to Kansas Ag Statistics data, the statewide average rental rate per acre for pasture was $13.70 in 2006 vs. $39.00 for non-irrigated cropland. But let’s consider some other ramifications.

If the grass in question is native warm season grassland, realize that it will never, at least not in the next hundred years, have the same productive potential as grassland that it had before being converted to cropland. Yes, we can plant native grasses and forbs on cropland and end up with nice looking prairie. But something is missing and cattle know it. The nutritional value is just not the same as is found in “real” prairie.

So, before becoming a “sodbuster,” you should find satisfactory answers to these questions:

• Is it practical? Are soils and slopes suitable? Are there rocks on or below the surface? Will field layouts allow for efficient use of equipment?
• Why is the land in grass now? If the answer is “It was farmed before and then put back to grass,” proceed with extreme caution.
• Can soil erosion be controlled? If not, don’t consider it. Be sure to factor in the expense of terraces and waterways, if needed. And remember that there will not be cost sharing assistance available on sod-busted ground.
• Could better management of the grass improve it enough to make grass production the best use of this land? The temptation, when grass looks poor, is to tear it up, but grass can be turned around.
• How will you feel about the decision if grain prices go down next year, or the year after that?

Practically all of the cropland in Clay County has been converted from native prairie at one time or another. And that can be a prudent decision. But not always.

If you are considering breaking out grassland, check with us at the USDA Service Center. Naturally, we have paperwork to complete and procedures to follow to make sure you don’t become ineligible for federal farm programs. Secondly, we may be able to provide input that will help with the decision. We don’t want you to do something that will be as impractical as “moving into the combine.”