Back before Europeans arrived in America, Iowa was a vast grassy expanse, 70-80% of the state was covered by prairie grass. Today, that number has shrunk to 0.1%. There is nothing inherently wrong with this transformation, as long as the benefits outweigh the costs. Unfortunately, the mass expanse of farms, as seen in Iowa, is causing environmental damage and likely harming long term crop yields. The solution isn’t necessarily a prohibition on grain farming, or requiring farmers to set aside land for prairie under government threat — it’s allowing the market to operate by reducing government manipulation of market incentives.
Common, industrial farming practices incentivize minimal biodiversity, and soil is left bare for months. The solution is simply to add-in more biodiversity and biomass. This can be done with cover crops. However, cover crops are often unappealing to farmers due to the opportunity cost when considering subsidized commodity crops, a compromise could be found in prairie strips.
Iowa was the home of prairie grass for most of history, these plants are what made Iowa, and the other plains regions so fertile. As the Midwest was settled, more and more fields were turned into farmland until the state, which was once 80% prairie grass, transformed to 85% farmland. This decline in prairie grass has had a ripple effect on the land. Erosion has caused the state to hemorrhage nutrient rich topsoil, meaning less productive growing seasons. This is why in 2002, Iowa State launched the STRIPS Program where they began studying the use of prairie grass on farms.
Prairie grass keeps nutrients from eroding, making the soil more fertile. Erosion, a natural process, has turned into one of the greatest environmental threats to agriculture. But the cause of erosion in agriculture should not be tolerated to the extent that it is. Erosion starts with farmers leaving the soil bare. This bare soil washes away easily as does the nitrogen contained in the fertilizer that's used on the field, eventually contaminates water sources. The effects of this are so massive that the runoff is even impacting other industries, from tourism to fishing.
Grassy solutions
Unlike cover crops, which do the same thing (albeit to a greater extent), prairie grass strips are not as large of a commitment. Prairie grass strips, unlike cover crops, do not need to be incorporated into the field rotation cycle; instead, they are permanent fixtures.
The government has taken note of the effectiveness of prairie grass. In 2014 CRP grasslands was created as an expansion of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The CRP dates back to 1985 as part of the 1985 Farm Bill which is touted as one of the “most massive agricultural reform bills in the nation’s history”. This bill, aimed at environmental protection, was extended in 2014 with the addition of CRP Grasslands. While not identical to Prairie strips, CRP Grasslands is a program that provides financial incentives to farmers for maintaining “environmentally sensitive” areas as natural grasslands instead of converting them into farmland.
One problem with CRP Grasslands, is that it's only applicable to fields that fit a niche set of conditions, whereas more significant advantages could be realized through the incorporation of prairie strips.
Prairie grass, the grainfather of Iowa’s landscape, although now nearly nonexistent, is still showing its importance to the ecosystem over a hundred years later. Reviving small sections of prairie to combat environmental problems shows how the free market can solve complex issues with compromises that don't hurt the economy, and that benefit the world.
David Norcross is a Catholic University student (class of 2027).
Further Reading:
Nobody Is Poisoning Your Groceries by David Norcross for Farming Abundance
Part 2: Solutions For The Failing School Lunch System By Juliana Sweeny for Farming Abundance
Part 1: The Problem - School Lunches Are Failing Our Children By Juliana Sweeny for Farming Abundance
SNAP can improve nutrition, help farmers, and support the environment By Angela Rachidi for Farming Abundance
Phony Demand and Underpopulation: Problems Plaguing American Farmers By Matthew Yglesias for Farming Abundance
Call Out Crony Crops by Patricia Patnode for Farming Abundance