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into nearby streams.
This is one of two methods used on stripcropped farms. Contour strips, or strips which follow the lay of the land, is the other. This is used less frequently today, since farmers found it to be time-consuming.
Farming in the traditional manner, Mr. Latham said, means that each of his fields would be plowed and planted in continuous row's, allowing any excess water to wash aw'ay the precious topsoil.
This spring, Mr. Latham is stripcropping 50 acres of the family farm. “I started with just 15 acres in strips,” the 16-year veteran farm manager said, pointing with pride to a field which is a masterpiece to behold; symetrical strips of brown soil beside stripes of bright green early crops under a brilliant April sky.
His early experience with stripcropping those few acres made Mr. Latham eager to commit an additional 45 acres just two years later.
Though he admits the acreage incentives paid by the two SCS programs w'hich support stripcropping are an incentive for many farmer, he finds there are other benefits.
For Mr. Latham, the financial benefit is determined after his loss is factored in. “With any farming, there is loss.” Using the stripcropping method, he explained, “it’s easier to harvest crops, and with the spare area around the edge (of each block) you can turn and return, without knocking down as much, creating less waste.”
Another advantage, he has found, is the erosion protection.
Mr. Latham explained that the
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