Conservation Reserve Program

This intervention suggests the need to closely examine uncritical uses of 'regions' in both geographical research and resource management contexts. In particular, I argue that regions are frequently leveraged in a manner that is often indistinguishable from, and thus analytically similar to, other concepts connoting connections and relationships across space. The US Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program is briefly described to illuminate the process and implications of using simplistic and erroneous regional designations (configured around the 100th Meridian) to inform resource management policy. I proffer several ways in which regions 'do work' analytically, discursively and materially, and argue that it is precisely the performative nature of regions that warrants its utility and sustained application in scholarly and policy-making environments. Finally, I suggest that the analytic toolkit possessed by political ecologists makes us uniquely equipped to assess, reconfigure, and employ regions and regional designations in our research; applications that will hopefully inform more accurate, nuanced and socially just policies.

Cet article préconise d'examiner avec attention les utilisations du concept de région dépourvues de tout sens critique, à la fois en recherche géographique et dans les contextes de gestion de ressources environnementales. Plus particulièrement, je soutien que le concept de régions est souvent utilisé de tel manière qu'il est généralement impossible de le distinguer d'autres concepts connotant des connections et des relations à travers l'espace, et donc qu'il est analytiquement similaire à ces différents concepts. Le programme de mise en réserve des terres fragiles aux États Unis (Conservation Reserve Program) est brièvement décrit pour mettre en lumière les processus et les implications simplistes et erronées de l'utilisation de « régions » (relatives au 100eme méridien) dans le cadre de politiques de gestions de ressources environnementale. Je présente plusieurs cas pour lesquels le concept de région fonctionne effectivement, de manière analytique, discursive et matérielle, et je montre que c'est précisément la nature performative du concept de région qui justifie son utilité et son application dans les contextes académiques et politiques. Enfin, je soutiens que les outils analytiques à la disposition des écologues politiques nous permettent d'évaluer, de reconfigurer, et d'utiliser le concept de région dans nos recherche d'une manière unique, qui, je l'espère, facilitera l'émergence de décisions politiques plus précises, plus nuancées, et plus juste socialement.

En esta intervención se sugiere la necesidad de examinar de cerca el uso indiscriminado de 'regiones' tanto en contextos de investigación geográfica como de administración de recursos. En particular, en este ensayo se argumenta que el concepto de regiones es frecuentemente aprovechado de tal forma que es normalmente indistinguible de, y por tanto analíticamente similar a, otros conceptos que sugieren conexiones y relaciones a través del espacio. Brevemente se describe al Programa de Conservación de Reservas del Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos para iluminar el proceso e implicaciones de usar designaciones regionales simplistas y erróneas (configuradas alrededor del Meridiano 100) para informar la política de administración de recursos. Ofrezco varias formas en las que el concepto de regiones 'sí funciona' analíticamente, discursivamente y materialmente, y argumento que es precisamente la naturaleza interpretativa de regiones lo que amerita su utilidad y sostenida aplicación en ambientes académicos y de políticas públicas. Finalmente, sugiero que las herramientas analíticas poseídas por ecologistas políticos nos hacen particularmente calificados para evaluar, reconfigurar y emplear a las regiones y a las designaciones regionales en nuestras investigaciones; aplicaciones que esperamos que informen a políticas más precisas, matizadas, y socialmente justas.

This article describes a unique flood hazard, produced by the dramatic expansion of wetlands in Nelson County, located within the North American Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number, average size, and permanence of prairie wetlands, and a significant increase in the size of a closed lake (Stump Lake) due to a decade-long wet spell that began in 1993 following a prolonged drying trend. Base-line land cover information from the 1992 USGS National Land Cover Characterization dataset, and a Landsat TM scene acquired 9 July 2001 are used to assess the growth of the closed lake and wetland pond surface areas, and to analyze the type and area of various land cover classes inundated between 1992 and 2001. The open water profile in Nelson County changed from one marked by relatively comparable coverage of closed lake and wetland pond areas in 1992, to one in which wetland open water accounted for the vast majority of total open water in 2001. The bulk of the wetland pond area expansion occurred by displacing existing wetland vegetation and agricultural cropland. Producers responded to the flood hazard by filing Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) claims and enrolling cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land retirement program. Land taken out of agricultural production has had an enormous impact upon the agricultural sector that forms the economic base of the rural economy. In 2001 the land taken out of production due to CRP enrollment and preventive planting claims represented nearly 42% of Nelson County’s 205.2 K ha base agricultural land. The patterns obtained from this detailed study of Nelson County are likely to be the representative of the more publicized flood disaster occurring within the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota.

There is limited knowledge of biochemical processes in low carbon content soils of semiarid regions under different land use and management. This study investigated several enzyme activities of C, N, P, and S transformations in semiarid soils with different clay (10–21 %) and sand (59–85 %) contents that were under conservation reserve program (CRP), native rangeland (NR), and cropland (CL) under sunflowers (Eriophyllum ambiguum (Gray)), continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), or in rotations with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in West Texas, USA. Soils under CRP and NR showed higher total C and N contents than cultivated soils under continuous cotton, but soil pH (6.7–8.4) was not affected by the management or land use studied. The activities of β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, arylamidase, acid and alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase, and arylsulfatase (mg product (kg soil)–1 h–1) were lower in CL under continuous cotton compared to cotton in rotation with other crops, CRP, and NR. The enzyme activities were also lower when compared to soils from other regions. Linear regression analyses indicated positive correlations between enzyme activities and total C (r values up to 0.96, P < 0.01). There was a positive relationship between enzyme activities and total N, but soil pH showed the opposite trend. Enzyme activities were significantly intercorrelated with r values up to 0.98 (P < 0.001). The specific enzyme activities (mg product (g organic C)–1) were lower in continuous cotton in comparison to the uncultivated soils (i.e., NR and CRP) reflecting differences in organic matter quantity and quality due to cultivation. Among the enzymes studied, the specific activities of β-glucosidase and arylamidase showed a more pronounced decrease with increasing soil depth. In general, soils under CRP or wheat-cotton rotations revealed higher enzyme activities than soils under the common agricultural practice for these regions, i.e., continuous cotton under conventional tillage.Enzymaktivitäten in semiariden Böden unter konservierender Landnutzung, natürlichem Weideland und AckerlandBegrenzte Informationen liegen über biochemische Prozesse in semiariden Böden unter verschiedenen Landnutzungssystemen vor. In dieser Studie wurden die Aktivitäten von verschiedenen Enzymen des C-, N-, P- und S-Kreislaufes in semiariden Böden mit variierenden Gehalten an Ton (10–21 %) und Sand (59–85 %) unter konservierender Landnutzung (CRP), natürlichem Weideland (NR) und Ackerland untersucht. Innerhalb des Ackerlandes wurden Böden unter Sonnenblumen (Eriophyllum ambiguum (Gray)), Baumwoll-Monokulturen (Gossypium hirsutum. L.), bzw. unter Baumwolle in Fruchtfolge mit Weizen (Triticum aestivum. L.) oder Hirse (Sorghum bicolor. L.) beprobt. Böden unter CRP and NR wiesen höhere Gesamtgehalte an C und N auf als Ackerböden unter Baumwoll-Monokultur. Die pH-Werte (pH 6.7–8.4) waren von der Landnutzung unbeeinflusst. Die Aktivitäten von β-Glukosidase, β-Glukosaminidase, Arylaminidase, saurer und alkalischer Phosphatase, Phosphodiesterase und Arylsulfatase (mg Produkt (kg Boden)–1 h–1) waren geringer unter Baumwoll-Monokulturen als unter Baumwolle in Fruchtfolge mit anderen Kulturen, CRP und NR. Im Vergleich zu Böden anderer Regionen fielen die Enzymaktivitäten in semiariden Böden geringer aus. Lineare Regressionsanalysen ergaben enge Korrelationen zwischen den Enzymaktivitäten und dem Gehalt an C (r ≤ 0.98, P < 0.001). Die Enzymaktivitäten zeigten positive Beziehungen zum Gesamtgehalt an N und negative Beziehungen zum pH-Wert. Signifikante Interkorrelationen bestanden zwischen den einzelnen Enzymaktivitäten (r ≤ 0.98, P < 0.001). Die spezifischen Enzymaktivitäten (mg Produkt (g organischem C)–1) waren geringer unter Baumwoll-Monokultur als unter CRP und NR. Diese Ergebnisse lassen auf nutzungsbedingte Unterschiede in der Quantität und Qualität der organischen Bodensubstanzen schließen. Die spezifischen Aktivitäten von β-Glukosidase und Arylamidase folgten einem stärkeren Tiefengradienten als die anderen Enzymaktivitäten. In der Regel wiesen Böden unter CRP oder Baumwolle in Fruchtfolge mit Weizen und Hirse höhere Enzymaktivitäten auf als Böden unter konventionellen Baumwoll-Monokulturen. Letztere stellen jedoch die übliche landwirtschaftliche Praxis in dieser Region dar.

... Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, in announcing there would be no early opt-out without penalties in July 2008, also noted that farmers across the nation have pulled out nearly ... Jeffery R. Williams,* Richard V. Llewelyn, Dustin L. Pendell, Alan Schlegel, and Troy Dumler ...

There is statistical evidence that decisions to participate in CRP and work off-farm are made simultaneously. Characteristics of households, farm operations other farm programs, and the local economies affect both decisions; some factors affect only one. Policy changes that affect one decision may affect another directly and/or indirectly.

The decade of the 1980s saw a resurgence of con- cern over the environmental and health effects of agricultural production that exceeded even the con- cern in the sixties generated by the publication of Rachel Carson&#39;s book, Silent Spring. Consumers worried about the health effects of pesticide resi- dues on foods; conversion of wetlands to crop pro- duction was blamed for the decreased population of migratory waterfowl; rural residents womiedabout the effects of nitrates and pesticides found in their groundwater supplies; and sediment, nutrients, and pesticides in surface waters were blamed for the decline of estuaries such as the Chesapeake Bay and contributed to problems in freshwater and coastal fisheries. As a result of this concern, many changes oc- curred. The first involved changes in policies. New farm programs designed to protect the environ- ment, such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and sodbuster and swampbuster restric- tions, were incorporated into the F...

This paper studies a specific one-class classification problem where the training data are corrupted by significant outliers. Specifically, we are interested in the one-class support vector machine (OCSVM) approach that normally requires good training data. However, perfect training data are usually hard to obtain in most real-world applications due to the inherent data variability and uncertainty. To address this issue, we propose an OCSVM-based data editing and classification method that can iteratively purify the training data and learn an appropriate classifier from the trimmed training set. The proposed method is compared with a general OCSVM approach trained from two types of bootstrap samples, and applied to the mapping and compliance monitoring tasks for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program using remotely sensed imagery. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the general OCSVM using bootstrap samples at a lower computational load.

Environmental indicators can be used to target public programs to provide a variety of benefits. Social scientists, physical scientists, and politicians have roles in developing indicators that reflect the demands of diverse interest groups. We review the US Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the largest agricultural conservation program the United States, to determine how a set of environmental indicators were developed and used, and assess results of their application. The use of such indicators has helped the CRP increase and broaden the program’s environmental benefits beyond erosion reduction, which was the primary focus of early program efforts, to meet other demands. This case study provides an example about how integration and assessment for the purpose of managing public resources requires more than natural science disciplines. Social science can help explain how public values influence what information is collected and how it is interpreted. Examples are given to show how the indices used for the CRP integrated science, politics and social values. In the end, the environmental benefits index (EBI) used to target US$ 20 billion of CRP funds reflects compromises made between science and policy considerations. It is our intention that studying this index will yield ideas and understanding from the natural science community that develops ecosystem indices about how to better plug in to programs in the future.

This paper is posted at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ... CRP to Crops Research Team,* Northeast Research and Extension Center ... 1. Plan ahead and evaluate the field as soon as possible. ... ● Evaluate feasibility of bringing CRP back into crops. If ...