Farmers Conserving Streambanks a Win-Win

by Amy Kolb Noyes

The Lamoille River winds through some of Lamoille County's prime
agricultural lands. The vista of a river meandering through fields of
corn and cows foraging in pastures is quintessential Vermont. It can
also be an environmental nightmare.
Thanks to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, however, that
classic scene can be both beautiful and environmentally sound. Farmers
and environmentalists can work together to keep both the farms and the
rivers viable and healthy. After all, who has more of a stake in keeping
the environment healthy than the farmer who makes his living off the land?
CREP is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture, in
partnership with participating states. In Vermont, the program focuses
on creating buffers along riverbanks. Farmers voluntarily participate in
the program by planting grass filter strips or trees and shrubs on their
land along the river. For this, CREP pays farmers an annual rental
payment for keeping the buffer strips out of production.
Cambridge farmer Mark Boyden has 17.4 acres in the CREP program. He said
the program allows farmers to do the right thing while still being able
to pay the mortgage.
"It's really a win-win situation," said Boyden. " We can do what we
should do without going broke for it."
Boyden explained river frontage land is purchased to the middle of the
river. Therefore, Boyden said when crops are not planted up to the river
edge, the amount of land out of production really adds up. He noted
there are many programs that tell farmers they should leave a buffer
between farmed land and the river. He said farmers are aware of runoff
problems and hazards associated with fertilizers and manure going into
the river. However, Boyden noted, when the mortgage has to be paid,
farmers need to maximize crops for feed or income.
Boyden said the beauty of the CREP program is it compensates farmers for
the income lost by not farming to the river's edge.
"It pays for what income you'd have for taking it out of production,"
said Boyden. He added, "This is the way it should be done right there."
Boyden said he has also participated in the Trees for Streams project,
which plants trees to stabilize the riverbanks. He added that philosophy
ties in with a new store they have opened at the Boyden Farm. The store
carries native Vermont agricultural products.
"We try to do what's environmentally right," said Boyden.
USDA Lamoille County executive director John St.Onge said they have
about 15 CREP contracts with landowners in the Lamoille watershed. Thus
far the program has enabled them to conserve about six-and-a-half linear
miles, primarily on the Lamoille mainstem.
Thus far, the state has partnered in the CREP program to conserve the
banks of waterways flowing to Lake Champlain. The state's goals are to
enhance wildlife and aquatic habitat and to reduce phosphorus loading to
Lake Champlain by 48.3 tons per year. The program may soon be expanded
in Vermont to include the Connecticut River watershed.
Boyden signed on to CREP in December 2002. He explained the standard
buffer on his farm is 25 feet, but the buffer extends up to 100 feet
wide in places where the river tends to cut into the land.
Participating farmers are paid a one time sign-up incentive and an
annual per-acre rental payment for the land enrolled in the program. The
payments are based on how the land has been used. The rental payment for
cropland is higher, per acre, than pastureland. Cropland must have been
planted to corn in two of the last five years to be deemed eligible. For
more information on CREP, call the USDA Farm Service Agency at 888-4935.