Agronomic Conservations to Address Supply Chain Disruptions

Apr 13, 2022

Given current global challenges, lawmakers have proposed allowing select land currently enrolled or soon-to-be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to be opened for crop production in the immediate future. In 2021, approximately 315,000 U.S. producers received CRP payments, accounting for roughly 22 million acres enrolled in the CRP program or 8.7% of U.S. cropland.

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members and certified professionals drafted scientific and agronomic considerations that address a potential shift in land use out of conservation and into crop production. We recognize that these are not the only points to be considered and acknowledge the growing global food security challenges brought on by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

The following are the key takeaways from the report:

In most cases, converting CRP acres to crop production is resource intensive and may require more time and agronomic inputs than currently available prior to the 2022 growing season. Conversion may be more feasible for the 2022 winter growing season or 2023 spring growing season.
Crop yields tend to be below average the first year after CRP is converted to cropland. Combined with high input prices and low supply, producers may face economic challenges upon converting CRP to cropland at this time even though crop prices are also high.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.