Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 10, Number 47, DeMotte, Jasper County, 10 October 1940 — FARM TOPICS [ARTICLE]

FARM TOPICS

GRAZING CONTROL RETARDS EROSION Over-Used Pastures Thin Rapidly in Drouth.

By RALPH O. LEWIS

(Member, Soil Conservation Service) Grazing control is a basic practice in any successful effort to control erosion on range or pasture lands. Light grazing promotes a vigorous grass growth which helps to slow up run-off. increases moisture penetration into the soil, and often prevents gullying. Grass eaten down to the surface of the ground does not have a chance to maintain a vigorous root system and thins out quicker under drouth conditions. Whether it is gullying, sheet erosion, or wind erosion that has been affecting the land, it is practically always aggravated by close, heavy grazing. Contour furrows, gully control check dams, and shrub and tree plantings in gullied areas are good erosion control practices in many instances, but their value is practically always increased by proper grazing management. The use of temporary supplementary pastures such as Sudan grass, sweet clover, and other adapted grazing plants is recommended as a means of lightening the grazing load on the native pastures. Lands that have been retired from cultivation and are being regrassed should fee completely protected from grazing until the grass stands become firmly established, after which they can serve as additional pasture. •