The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is being widely utilized by agricultural producers and landowners in Washington County. Many producers have improved wildlife habitat, decreased soil erosion, and improved water quality.

One family farm that has taken advantage of the benefits offered through CRP is Bodenbender Farms. Bodenbender Farms owns approximately 1,100 acres of land in Washington County. The Bodenbender family runs a cow/calf operation, raises alfalfa and mixed hay, and leases the remaining acreage to other local farmers for row crops. In addition to operations in other counties and States, the farm in Washington County maintains over 200 acres of land under CRP contract. Practices installed through CRP include: Permanent Introduced Grasses, Permanent Native Grasses and Legumes, Sod Waterways, Tree Planting, Filter Strips, and Riparian Buffers. Norman Bodenbender of Bodenbender farms says that CRP has been a great success on the farm, and he is very pleased with the practices installed.

Because Bodenbender Farms acreage lies along Blue River, the family has installed CRP Filter Strips and Riparian Buffers to help reduce erosion and filter runoff flowing directly into the stream. Of the acreage enrolled in CRP, approximately 66 acres, or one-third of the total, has been devoted to Filter Strips, Sod Waterways, and Riparian Buffers. "CRP is a great program to help farmers protect their land," said Norman. "I have enrolled every acre possible along the rivers and streams on my farm and installed Sod Waterways where needed." In one field of alfalfa hay, he pointed out a Filter Strip installed along the Blue River and a Sod Waterway installed across the middle of the field. There are eight acres devoted to CRP Sod Waterways on the farm, and Norman says they are doing a fantastic job of controlling erosion.

Norman related that he has done a lot of traveling in his life, and he feels that through programs like CRP, "American farmers do a much better job of caring for their land and protecting our natural resources" than farmers in other countries. He added that the erosion occurring on farms in some countries is just terrible, and he is glad that he has been able to participate in CRP to help eliminate erosion problems on his farm.

Norman stated that wildlife on the farm has really increased since he began enrolling acreage in CRP. "One night last year my wife and I saw about 100 wild turkeys on one of the Filter Strips," he said. In addition to turkeys and deer, they have recently noticed several quail around the farm, wildlife which was not present just a few years earlier.

In addition to Filter Strips enrolled on cropland acreage along the river, the Bodenbenders have also enrolled marginal pastureland along Blue River as a Riparian Buffer. Trees are an integral part of a CRP Riparian Buffer, and trees planted in the Riparian Buffer installed by Bodenbender Farms in 2002 "are taking off nicely," said Norman. Approximately 16,200 trees have been planted including hardwoods such as black walnut, bur oak, white oak, red oak, and pecan.

Bodenbender Farms has taken good advantage of the opportunities available through the CRP. The family has a beautiful farm that is well kept and will be enjoyed by many future generations thanks to CRP and the good farming practices employed by the family.

Fence line separates pasture from the CRP cost-shared Riparian Buffer along the Blue River on Bodenbender Farms.

Part of CRP Filter Strip along the Blue River.

CRP Grassed Waterway installed in field currently devoted to alfalfa.

Marginal pastureland along the Blue River devoted to CRP Riparian Buffer.