Jim and Hazel Gammill grew up on farms in Choctaw and Webster Counties in Mississippi, but after college they ended up in the "city." However, their love of the land and country living pushed them to accumulate several farms ending up with a total of 614 acres. While living in town, they have been able to spend much of their time on their farms. Much of their land was considered highly erodible, and they found that some acreage qualified for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

In 1988, while considering options for one farm that had been previously cultivated and was eroding, the Gammills decided CRP was their best option. They planted 198 acres of cropland to Loblolly Pines under a 10-year CRP contract in Webster County. The Gammills added another farm in 1994 with 30 acres in CRP. Both contracts have since been re-enrolled in CRP.

Additional 60-acre and 30-acre tracts qualified in 1997 for CRP. The 30-acre tract has a 20 percent set aside wildlife area which is planted each year, typically to wheat, ryegrass, oats, and clover to attract wildlife, mainly deer and turkey. The family enjoys hunting, and they have harvested deer each year from their farmland.

The Gammills currently have 313 acres in CRP. They give credit to CRP for helping them develop their tree farms. "At mid-rotation, we expressed a desire to apply herbaceous control and possibly fertilize to boost growth. We were advised by USDA personnel of the cost-share program through CRP. We immediately applied and received approval to have 220 acres treated. We applied it last fall, by ground equipment, and are very pleased with the results we saw this spring."

CRP will assist the Gammills in their retirement and will enable them to leave the farms to their children.

The Gammills found the best option for their highly erodible cropland was CRP devoted to Loblolly pine trees.