Yields Rise with Conservation Practices in McLean County
When Tyler Stafslien returned as his family’s farm near Makoti after his dad passed away in 2003, he began learning about conservation practices from his local Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) office. Prior to farming full-time, Stafslien worked as an electrician in Fargo, N.D.
By 2005, Stafslien had switched to minimum-tillage system. An Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contract helped with the transition and provided cost-share funds to help him buy minimum-till drill.
“We are often starved for moisture,” he says. “It made sense to conserve moisture and reduce trips over the field.”
Stafslien has planted trees through the West McLean County Soil Conservation District. He’s added cover crops and he has adapted precision technology to help reduce inputs and protect the environment. Cost share funds through a Conservation Stewardship Program contract helped him transition to low drift sprayer nozzles and GPS equipment. They allow Stafslien to be more precise when applying fertilizer and herbicides.
Recently he dedicated five acres to pollinator habitat. The tract contains utility poles that are difficult to farm around. Initially, he thought about planting the five-acre area back to grass, but NRCS Soil Conservation Technician, Diane Krzmarzick suggested the idea of forbs and grass species that benefit pollinators. Recognizing the importance of bees and other pollinators to the environment, Stafslien made the idea a reality. He planted a mix of Blue Grama, Plain Coreopsis, Western Yarrow, Black-Eyed Susan, Purple Prairie Clover, Maximillian Sunflower, Hoary Vervain, and Ironweed. The planting has worked out so well that he is interested in setting aside land for pollinators in the future.
Krzmarzick, commends Stafslien for his dedication to using conservation to enhance his farm.
“He’s a young producer who has really made big conservation enhancements to his land,” she says.
Today, Stafslien, his wife, Shannon, and their young family are enjoying farm life and seeing value from the investment in conservation. “It’s quite obvious our yields have increased as a result of our conservation efforts to save moisture and use precision technologies,” Stafslien says.
Stafslien, who is involved in the local co-op board and the North Dakota State Farmers Union board of directors, says he hopes conservation programs via NRCS continue.
“I believe farmers have become more conservation-minded because of programs like Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and EQIP, and the conservation practices these programs facilitate benefit the entire landscape,” he says.