In June 2005, a 50-year rain event struck Bruce Roope's farm. In only 30 minutes, 1½ inches of rain fell. But this time, Roope's property was prepared to handle the deluge. Through CRP, he had rebuilt a 700-foot waterway that was nonfunctioning when he purchased the Maine farm. The repaired waterway allows even heavy rainfall to move efficiently into the local Aroostook River, a water source for nearby towns.

Before the work was done, the farm suffered soil loss and gullying nearly every year, affecting Roope's potato, grain, clover, and oilseed crops. The new waterway was rock-lined because the steep slope handles runoff from several areas of the farm. About his experience with CRP, Roope observed, "Continuous CRP is flexible and time efficient, allowing producers to quickly apply for program benefits and complete projects."

Bruce Roope's rock-lined waterway has greatly decreased soil erosion and gullying on his farm while improving water quality in the nearby Aroostook River.

Before construction of the new waterway, Bruce Roope's farm experienced significant soil loss and gullying almost every year.