Environmentally Conscious Plan
1. You inherited 200 acres of farmland near the Ohio River from your grandfather and you’ve decided to become a full-time farmer. While the land was once fertile, it has been subjected to years of erosion and soil degradation because of intensive tillage practices, which has caused fertility to decline and topsoil to be lost. You still plan to farm the land for income, but are interested in restoring the land’s fertility by using certain conservation practices that will stop erosion and build nutrients in the soil, while also creating habitat for wildlife that was once abundant but now scarce. It’s especially important that you prevent nutrient runoff, because a stream that runs through your property dumps directly into the Ohio River. The main cash crops your grandfather used to grow were corn and soybeans.
a. Based on this scenario, please develop a plan for your property that you deem will be “sustainable”. Choose AT LEAST 5 practices for your property that you will implement. Some examples to help you get started: cover crops, reduced tillage or no tillage, buffer strips, grass waterways, enrolling some acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), growing different crops besides corn/soybeans (like hay), etc. BE CREATIVE. Remember, you will have to make a living off of this land as well.
b. Each practice you choose should be well-explained. What is the practice? Why would it be beneficial? Why did you choose this practice? Will this practice be relatively expensive compared to other practices? What steps will need to be taken to implement this practice?
2. Wanting to escape the air-polluted city for the sake of the health of your family, you purchased some property with the intent on building an eco-friendly home in a remote location in the Midwest. Your goals are to provide power to your property through the use of renewable energy, reduce any impact you may have on local wildlife/ecosystem, and make the construction of your home to be as energy efficient as possible. Based on this scenario, please list and describe AT LEAST 5 practices you would like to implement on your homestead. Keep in mind the following questions as you develop this plan:
a. What practices will you be using and why?
b. How will you implement these practices?
c. How will you reduce or alleviate any impact you may have on the local wildlife/ecosystem?
