NRCS assists with dangerous erosion issues

MARION, Ill. — The Natural Resources Conservation Service is a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency that helps landowners fix natural resource concerns on their land.

The resource concerns vary based on the history of the land, the management practices used and many other variables that change according to where the landowner is operating.

Conservation-minded landowners, producers, forest landowners and graziers can come to NRCS to have our knowledgeable staff view their land and determine what resource concerns are there.

The agency can then develop alternative plans that the landowner can choose from to address those resource concerns. NRCS may then offer technical and financial assistance for the landowner, so that the resource concerns can be fixed.

This is the story about a grazing operation in Williamson County run by Brent Clark, his wife, Kathy, and his father, Gary. The operation was in a dangerous situation before he reached out to NRCS.

Being down in the southern part of Illinois, Clark’s land has the hilly terrain that contrasts the flatland that comprises most of Illinois— and with those hills comes more erosion problems for the operation.

The family had many issues with muddy areas and erosion, even losing some calves to excessively muddy areas that were flooding. In one area, there was a 12-foot deep erosive cut that was an obvious danger.

Clark knew he had natural resource concerns and decided to take the next step. He contacted NRCS and was assisted by Kevin Halsey, a grazing lands specialist working out of the Marion area office in Williamson County.

Halsey was able to provide the family technical support and come up with a plan that involved financial assisted options through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP.

Over the past several years, Halsey assisted Clark in implementing his grazing plan across multiple tracts.

This has included technical support for the design and installation of livestock watering systems, nine and a half miles of fencing with a rotational grazing plan, stream crossings and the development of two winter feeding stations with accompanying practices.

That 12-foot deep cut is now a beautiful pond, thanks to help from Halsey and NRCS.

During a recent field visit, Clark reflected on his earlier experience using large stock tanks supplied by frost-free hydrants and garden hoses.

He recalled the recurring winter issues of frozen tanks, cracked hoses and inconsistent water supply. After switching to frost-free fountains, those problems were eliminated.

“Once you install the frost-free fountains, you don’t have to worry about frozen tanks or supply lines — they just work,” the farmer said.

The conservation practices installed have led to Clark now being able to better manage the forage and the improvement of overall safety and health of the livestock.

He has become a strong advocate for NRCS livestock conservation practices through EQIP.

His involvement in the local community and commitment to improving his own operation has encouraged other producers to reach out.

After visiting his farm and hearing about his experience, many have gone on to apply for assistance and begin developing grazing plans of their own.

Anyone with resource concerns on their land can call NRCS for help. As Clark would say, “They will work with you on everything you need to help engineer your farm for success.”