Farmers are putting the environment first.

• Author: Webster, Elroy

RECYCLING, car-pooling, and emissions testing are 1990s buzzwords in U.S. cities. No-till, integrated pest management, and precision farming are the buzzwords on America's farms. Like urban dwellers, rural Americans are concerned about the environment. They are battling soil erosion and groundwater contamination, preserving wild life and curbing pollution, and finding new ways to conserve natural resources by using renewable crops and products.

The farm community has these concerns at heart because, to prosper and continue their farm family legacy, farmers and ranchers must keep soil, air, and water in top condition. Throughout the years, farmers have worked to find ways to help them, and they rely on many of these tried and true methods. Like other industries, they are taking advantage of new technology to help do the job.

Battling soil erosion. Some of the most effective methods that help reduce soil erosion have been handed down from past generations, such as crop rotation. Farmers rotate the crops they raise on their farms periodically, which helps keep soil in place and maintains its natural fertility. Another well-established soil-protecting method is contour farming, or planting crops around hillsides instead of up and down them, reducing water damage. Twenty-six million acres are fanned this way. Reduced tillage helps farmers care for the soil as they till only when absolutely necessary, cutting the amount of soil lost in the process. This common sense practice has been passed down from previous generations to be used on 72,000,00 acres across the U.S.

Farming their land in narrow strips, appropriately called narrow strip farming, is helping to keep soil from washing away. Yet another method is no-till, or not tilling soil at all. This is a rapidly growing practice; in 1995, 40,9000,000 acres were no-till farmed, an increase of 1,900,000 from 1994 even though 5,400,000 fewer acres were planted in 1995.

Grass, trees, and hedges give farmers a hand in holding down precious top soil. Grass waterways, for instance, guard against erosion by allowing water to flow naturally from crops on over 1,300,000 acres of farmland. Rows of trees and hedges are planted annually to anchor soil. About 200,000 miles of them exist, and farm soil isn't the only thing that benefits from their growth. Wildlife find homes, food, and habitat in those trees and hedges.

In some areas, winter cover crops are planted to combat erosion, and in the arid West, two new grass seed varieties are being utilized because they are drought tolerant and their strong roots hold soil in place. These plants, which reduce erosion on dry, mountainous ranges and help feed wildlife add livestock, cad survive on just eight to 10 inches of water per year.

Other tools farmers and ranchers rely on to control water runoff include sod water ways and diversions, erosion control structures, and catch basins. They also install pasture water systems, fence livestock out of waterways, and allow...