Lifelong Farmer Switches to Conservation Tillage

Clarence Prince, a life long row crop farmer from Bulloch County, has had tremendous success with his conservation tillage system. Prince produces 1,100 acres of cotton and 400 acres of peanuts. He has 350 acres under irrigation. Prince’s farm was highlighted on the Burns-Goodlatte Congressional Agriculture Tour in March of 2004 where he discussed the importance and benefits of cropland irrigation. Prince began strip-tilling 400 acres five years ago as a test.

Two years later, he was convinced and determined that conservation tillagewas the way to go. He then converted his whole cotton and peanut operation to 100% strip-till. He has applied various other practices applied to this operation which include terraces, tile outlets, and grass waterways.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has played a big role by providing technical assistancein planning, applying, and managing these conservation practices throughout this farming operation. Prince said that he has noticed an abundant amount of benefits that come with these conservation efforts including the increase of wildlife population, reduction in soil erosion, protection of water quality, and an increase in production.

Dennis Akins: Dennis Akins enthusiastically calls his Georgia Grazing Land Conservation Coalition (GGLCC) project “back forty to front forty”. According to Akins, “my pasture and cows were on the back of the farm just taking care of themselves. The cows grazed on land that would not grow anything but grass because it was so low and wet.”

Akins has received cost-share in the past from the USDA for planting trees and making drainage improvements; however, he was not aware of cost-share assistance from groups like the Georgia Grazing Lands Conservation Coalition (GGLCC) until local conservationists informed him about the opportunity.

Akins used the GGLCC program to plant grass, and install fence and water lines. He also fenced in planted pines so he could use the acreage for winter cover and browsing. “My cows graze land that was planted in cotton, soybeans, and peanuts in the past. My peanut and cotton profit margins have almost disappeared, but we can see a profit in cows and tobacco,” offers Akins.

Akins’ cows have moved from the back of the farm to the front of the farm where they are managed on a daily basis and record keeping is more than an old note pad thrown on the dash of the truck. “I wish more cost-share programs could work as easily as the GGLCC project worked for us,” Akins said.

Nellwood Farms: Chap Cromley of Nellwood Farms remarks, “I have always worked closely with Extension and NRCS, but I was not aware of the interest the GGLCC has in Georgia cattle operations.

Wanting to increase my profit along with the number of cattle on my farm were the factors that prompted me to apply for the GGLCC project. Cattle prices had been down and my operating money was depleted when I heard about the program, but prices were on their way up again and that was encouraging.

While I was filling out my project application, I noticed that my record keeping, including feed on hand, needed improving.” Improved bermudagrass varieties are the mainstay of Cromley’s grazing operation. With the GGLCC project, he focused on clean water and fencing to improve his cattle rotation.

Cross fencing and water lines were installed in most of his pastures. Cromley had recently purchased digital scales and hay testing equipment to track forage quality and weight gains.

According to Cromley, “This project has increased the efficiency of my operation allowing me to stock more cattle and to feed less hay during dry summers. I have already taken more marginal cropland out of crop production and planted it to bermudagrass to expand my cattle operation. We have also started a marketing association to group and sell our cattle to Midwest feed lots.” 

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