Nebraska is undergoing a generational shift in farm ownership as more of the state’s ag producers age out of farming.
That raises questions for soil conservation efforts in the state.
Kalee Olson with the Center for Rural Affairs said she’s wary of how those acres will be dealt with when farmers decide to leave agriculture.
Often, farm acres are sold via land auctions. Those, she said, can make things difficult for smaller producers who may be more invested in conservation.
“Auctions generally go to the highest bidder,” she said. “So oftentimes, the operations that are able to pay the most in those auctions are the biggest.”
That means conserving the state’s crop land could be compromised. The bigger an operation is, Olson argued, the less time it has to consider anything but growing and harvesting.
“We have a lot of ground that needs to be planted or harvested, and a short plating and harvesting season, and there’s simply not a lot of time to think about conservation.”
Those acres are boiled down to profit margins for big agriculture, she said.
“A producer has to pay for seed, getting it planted, and it’s labor-intensive. A lot of them want to get in and get out, as fast as possible, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for practices that might involve conservation.”
She said those include not tilling the soil and planting cover crops in non-growing seasons, all of which cost money that larger operations might not be willing to spend at scale.
Cover crops are lifesavers for Nebraska soil, especially given recent droughts statewide. Olson said farmers themselves attest to the results.
“We have producers saying that having cover crops on the ground almost shades the soil, which has prevented evaporation.”
Smaller producers, Olson said, might be more inclined to adopt these conservation practices, especially if they’re beginning farmers or are renting the ground from the landowner.
“Because if that landowner has an investment in conservation and those values, there’s a little bit more likelihood, I think, that those values will be passed along with the operation of the farm.”
She added that renters might even have a bit of bargaining power when it comes to leasing land from landowners.
“A producer can approach a landowner and say, ‘Not only will I pay cash rent for the land, but I’m going to improve that piece of ground regardless if I’m farming it or not in ten years,'" she said. “That should be a no-brainer."
Olson said she’s not the only one thinking that way; the Center for Rural Affairs has seen increased interest in its Conservation Mentorship Network, which equips producers with tools and knowledge to maintain soil conservation practices throughout their agricultural careers.
She’s optimistic about the future of Nebraska’s farmland.
“The interest is definitely there,” she said. “It’s promising.”