North Dakota launches soil health program for Stutsman County farms

The new state soil health pilot asks a practical question in Stutsman County: can land that barely pays its way as cropland do more as grass, wildlife cover and hunting ground without squeezing productive acres out of the county’s farm economy? The Governor’s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program, rolled out Jan. 29 by Gov. Kelly Armstrong with Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts, was built for marginal or unproductive fields, not native grassland and not most existing grass or hay land.

The two-year, $6.5 million package is funded by $4.3 million from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and $2.2 million in matching contributions, enough to enroll up to 10,000 acres statewide. Landowners who join sign five-year agreements, receive payments based on average county rental rates, and can get a $100-per-acre establishment cost share plus a $10-per-acre crop insurance premium reduction. If they also open enrolled grass for public hunting through Private Lands Open To Sportsmen, they can qualify for another $15 per acre of grass seeded.

That public-access option is where the policy’s tradeoffs become immediate for Stutsman County, where more than 93 percent of land is privately owned and hunting access depends on landowner cooperation. PLOTS agreements can run from two to 30 years and are funded by hunting license fees rather than general fund tax dollars. Fee hunting is not allowed on enrolled acres, a restriction meant to keep the access public while the habitat stays tied to working land. State wildlife officials say the extra grass should mean more cover for deer and grassland birds, while the Meadowlark Initiative sets a broader target of converting 20,000 acres of marginal cropland, enhancing 50,000 acres of grasslands and restoring 10,000 acres of wetlands.

For Stutsman County, the opportunity is local as well as statewide. The county was organized in 1873, covers 2,298 square miles and had 21,593 people, with Jamestown as the county seat. Producers there already have a local support network through the Stutsman County Soil Conservation District, NDSU Extension and the county’s Prairie Management Toolbox, which offers technical and financial help for grassland habitat and forage quality. If the program draws interest, those institutions will likely help decide whether the initiative reduces conflict on the same acres or simply gives farmers and hunters another set of rules to negotiate.