Hale County is a model of CRP success, and everyone in the county benefits. Located on the High Plains of Texas, the county once lost a whopping 14 tons of topsoil from each acre every year. Growing wheat, cotton, and grain sorghum in some areas created more of a conservation headache than the benefit in production value.

When CRP began in 1985, Hale County farmers were quick to see the program's advantages. Within a few years, they enrolled 26 percent of the county's 574,000 cropland acres. This conservation investment has paid off big, as the county has accrued all of CRP's primary benefits. CRP grass cover and grass waterways stop erosion as water drains from fields. Other plantings have noticeably reduced wind erosion, improving air quality.

Farmers have been able to conserve underground water and to utilize the supply more efficiently. And CRP wildlife habitat has significantly increased populations of deer, pheasants, quail, and doves. Thousands of wild geese and sand hill cranes use Hale County's CRP habitat as a refuge when migrating during the winter.

Collective CRP participation from farmers like Randy Bennett, Lanny Bennett, Donald Lee Terrell, and June Wells has improved Hale County's quality of life.

Since 1986, 150,000 acres of Hale County's highly erodible cropland has been enrolled in CRP.

Benefits of CRP in Hale County include conservation of underground water supplies.