Conservation practices require a significant investment in time and money. There are often large implementation costs, learning curves and labor required, all of which might prevent farmers and landowners from being able to adopt these practices. Yet, conservation practices provide many benefits to the cropping system, often by improving soil health, protecting water quality and increasing yield stability. While difficult to quantify, there are tools to help estimate the return on investment for conservation practices.
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One new practice gaining traction in Michigan, prairie strips, involves converting up to 10% of cropland to a mixture of perennial grasses, flowers and forbs. Prairie strips have been shown to reduce nutrient leaching, provide habitat for pollinators and prevent soil erosion, all without reducing crop yields adjacent to the prairie strip. Economically, prairie strips can increase the net profit of a field, if installed strategically. This is because prairie strips have the potential to cost less than producing crops in consistently low-yielding portions of a field.
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To help navigate the costs, savings and payments associated with prairie strips, a collaborative team of scientists, economists, outreach specialists and Extension educators at Michigan State University has come together to develop a new partial budget tool. The tool predicts that prairie strips could save farmers money if planted in areas where crops yield below 50% of the statewide average. These areas, often field borders, low-lying areas or cumbersome extensions of fields, may cost more to put into production than to restore to prairie. Additionally, if enrolling in the CRP-43 prairie strip program or other incentive programs, the cost-savings of prairie conversion increase.​
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If you are interested in how a prairie strip may fit into your field operation, this bulletin includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet which can be adjusted to accurately fit individual needs.
The partial budget bulletin is available here and on the MiSTRIPS website.