Four North Dakota Drift Prairie farmers and their farm operations participated in the demonstration project which proved that farmers are willing to make changes to protect the environment when those options are economically feasible. Stewards of the Land is their story.
Clark & Susan Lemley
- Location:
Barnes County - Watershed:
Maple River - Acres Farmed:
2,300 - Crops Produced:
Wheat, dry edible beans, soybeans, corn - Livestock:
None - Farm Management:
Conventional
Clark grew up on this family farm. His father and uncle both farmed in the area. When Clark graduated from college, his father encouraged him to find employment off the farm, so Clark became a county Extension Agent. In 1976 Clark's uncle died, giving Clark and Susan an opportunity to come back and farm. Clark and his father worked together until his fathers' death. Now Clark and Susan are farming with their daughter and son-in-law.
According to Clark, "When we came up with the slogan 'Farm the Best; Alternatives on the Rest', that really caught my attention because I had areas which weren't producing like they should." Clark knew he needed to think about other options for those problem areas. The CAP helped Clark evaluate those options for marginal land and experiment with various alternatives.
Clark, who has always tried to be open to new ideas hasn't changed his farm management markedly, but he has tried to make the farm more sustainable. The biggest management changes include adopting no till and reduced-till practices, leaving grass buffer strips around wetlands, and increasing the use of technology for record keeping.
No till farming was a new concept for Clark and has required a new mindset. Because of the CAP he has a much better understanding of soil structure. He explains saying, "I'm five years into farming a quarter section I have with no-till and we're just getting that parcel to the point where we can see some changes in soil structure. It takes time to build up the earthworms and biota in the soil. No till has helped solve some water infiltration issues the Lemley's were having.
Clark admits he's "not a big wildlife guy," but he doesn't mind trying to maintain habitat for wildlife. The buffers Clark put around the wetlands are showing changes in bird species. The incentive payment program made it economically feasible to set aside the marginal areas around wetlands rather than investing input (seed, fertilizer, use of farm equipment/fuel, labor costs etc.).
Before the CAP Clark kept his farm records in a pocket notebook. Now he uses the IPAQ software extensively for field records and organization. The standard format helps him keep better records and "pushes you to finish it." Clark also uses the GPS. He is looking forward to infrared maps which track vegetation vigor and density, which will eventually lead to variable ate seeding, fertilizer, and chemical management.
The Lemleys have kept farm records through Farm Credit Services for many years. They have started to track profitability for each crop. Clark uses this information to make farm management decisions. While economics weigh into the decision-making process, they are not the only thing Clark considers. "Frankly, wheat isn't economically profitable at this point, but we do it for rotation."
Clark appreciated the variety of expertise different team members brought to the discussions. While there were often differences of opinion among team members, their discussions helped Clark envision the real application of their ideas.
"When my dad came back from World War II, all he had to do was work – if he worked and got the job done, he was successful," Clark explains. "Now, we can go out and do all this and forget the market and it could be a problem economically. We have to look at the economics [of farming] because we have to derive our living from it." The incentive payments program made it possible for Clark to try some of the alternative practices his Resource Analysis Team proposed. Clark used part of his incentive payments to help pay for a no-till drill, which he would not have purchased otherwise. Clark is hooked on mulch-till/no-till planting. Once a farmer owns the drill, it is unlikely that management will shift back to conventional tillage. In fact, Clark is working on getting his whole farm into no-till.
Like other farmers in the CAP, Clark was reluctant to sing up for a "wildlife conservation" program. Clark attributes his concern to past efforts that paid farmers very little, if anything, to take land out of production for wildlife habitat. "Wildlife folks just expected farmers to bear the that cost and still pay taxes on the land. Clark believes that the wildlife conservation effort could be a feasible farm program for marginal lands and that many of his neighbors would be interested in setting aside marginal lands for wildlife habitat if they were adequately compensated.