Ever wonder what farmers do during the winter after the crops are harvested?

We’re in a part of Nebraska where fields sits on hillsides, have terraces and curves. And, we have a lot of precipitation during the year, so this means top soil has the potential to wash away and end up in the creek bed instead of staying in the field where it’s needed. To help prevent that from happening, farmers can receive additional funds through the USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CSP.html) to install drainage tiles in their fields.

That’s what they’ve been doing the past couple of months, among many other things. On any drive within 60 miles from home, you could see dozers and back hoes hard at work. They’re parked now because the ground has frozen and it’s turned colder, but farmers were doing their part to preserve the integrity of the land and make it as optimal as possible for next year’s crop.

I’ve always heard that farmers are the world’s best environmentalists and they are.

Until we walk again …