McLean County: Pollinators, Producers, Partners and Planning Conservation Technical Assistance

Casey Anderson, owner of Lazy J C ranch, came to the NRCS with a specific goal; to improve the productivity on his ranch by enhancing a small 3 acre portion of non-productive cropland. The input cost on this unproductive portion of the field was greater to operate than it was worth.

As a rancher and outdoorsman, Anderson made the decision to plant the 3 acre field to a pollinator plot with help from the NRCS.  The pollinator plot was established by Anderson completing a chemical burn down application for site preparation and then was seeded in the spring of 2014 by the South McLean County SCD. A nine species pollinator mix was developed during the Conservation Planning phase by NRCS staff District Conservationist -David Hendrickson, Soil Conservation Technician - Patrick Wentz and Ducks Unlimited partner Farm Bill Specialist Dane Buysse. Soils, bloom period and location taken into consideration during plan development. The pollinator mix was planted with oats as a companion crop to give the pollinator seedlings protection for the establishment period.

A site visit to the Lazy J C ranch in the fall of 2014 was a surprise because a majority of the species planted just three months prior had taken root and were growing. Half of the pollinator plants were in bloom and noxious weeds were absent. Young birds and fruit bearing vegetation throughout the ranch, such as plum, Juneberry and apples have benefited from the increased number of pollinators in the area. The advantages to the establishment of the pollinator plot on the ranch include, the personal enjoyment gained by Anderson and his family. His children enjoy identifying the new pollinator plants and insects. The 3 acre pollinator plot provides the best pheasant hunting in the fall and most importantly his wife is pleased to see the flowers blooming throughout the growing season. Anderson believes the success of this pollinator planting was due to proper site preparation and use of the South McLean County SCD Truax grass drill. Anderson plans to utilize the diverse pollinator planting in a few years as a means to benefit adjacent livestock grazing. By grazing the pollinator plot with a high stock density for a short period of time, Anderson hopes to increase diversity on adjacent pastures using livestock as a tool to transfer pollinator seed. Time will tell.