New grasslands program available for South Dakota landowners
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Conservation and agriculture organizations across the state are teaming up to offer a new partnership program for South Dakota farmers, ranchers and landowners interested in converting all or portions of their property back to native grass.
Ducks Unlimited recently received $25 million in an award from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the Working Grasslands Partnership project which aims to convert or restore over 25,000 acres of grasslands over the next five years.
Bruce Toay, manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited in South Dakota said the program offers a new approach to getting more grass on the landscape and recovering marginal cropland soils.
When implemented, the program can provide financial and technical assistance on grass-seeding plans and annual payments to cooperators for the first three years after seeding to help offset any grazing losses. At the end of the seeding and growing term, cooperators can use the natural grass areas for grazing or haying with a 10-year commitment.
"Under this new partnership, we can provide incentive payments to producers while the grasses are established," Toay said in a press release. "Then we'll provide management options so landowners, ag producers and ranchers remain profitable."
The goal of the project is to increase carbon sequestration in soils, reduce nitrogen loss and help capture atmospheric carbon, as well as aid flood water storage, reduce the effect of erosion and increase migratory waterfowl biodiversity.
"South Dakota's grasslands provide direct benefits to producers by improving soil health and providing livestock forage," Toay said in a press release. "But they also provide value to all South Dakotans in the form of wildlife habitat, improved water quality, reduced erosion and sequestered carbon."
While Ducks Unlimited is the lead sponsor, the program also partners with several organizations who all play a role in improving soil health, increasing biodiversity and promoting grasslands across the state.
The partnership includes Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Audubon Great Plains, the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition and the South Dakota Grassland Coalition.
Cindy Zenk , executive director of the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition, said the new program offers another option for producers who feel the Conservation Reserve Program is too long-term for them.
"CRP is a great program for putting land back into a grass, but it is set aside for a longer-term, where this is shorter-term, and then they're able to graze it and or hay it, you know, whatever they want to be able to do with that land," Zenk said. "It's a benefit for the wildlife in the long run, too."
Zenk believes the partnership between the different organizations provides a unique aspect to the program's ability to help producers.
"Having the ability to work alongside our partners in one voice is an excellent way for us to be able to reach everyone where they're at and help those producers," she said. "So it's a win for all of the areas of the conservation movement, which also benefits agriculture."
