North Dakota farmer to earn $5,250 a year for turning erosion-prone land into grassland

A retired farmer in North Dakota is preparing to turn 35 acres of erosion-prone farmland into grassland, a move expected to earn him $5,250 annually for five years while helping restore the soil and create wildlife habitat. Brian Roach, who lives near Wheatland, is participating in the state Governor’s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program, which pays landowners to plant perennial grasses on less productive cropland. The North Dakota Monitor, which reported on the initiative on May 28, said Roach would receive $150 per acre annually once the grass is planted.The programme offers farmers a financial incentive to set aside land that may be difficult or unprofitable to cultivate, while allowing the soil to recover and providing habitat for wildlife. Roach’s 35-acre plot is classified as highly erodible land, meaning it is particularly susceptible to soil erosion.“Once it gets some topsoil put back on and you give it a few years to stabilise… we’ll get some root structure from the grass. It’ll become pretty productive cropland,” Roach told the North Dakota Monitor.Roach currently rents his land to a young farmer who grows crops including corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. However, the...