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recent weather conditions, vigor of the plants, and amount <br /> of use to which competing species are subject. In general, <br /> research has shown that herbaceous forage plants remain vig- <br /> orous and productive if at least 50 percent of the annual pro- <br />>~ auction, by weight, remains at the end of the grazing season. <br /> The amount of growth left on a perennial plant, not the amount <br /> removed, is important to the functioning of the plant. During <br /> an exceptionally favorable year, there is usually little advan- <br /> tage in leaving onehalf of the annual growth of a vigorous <br /> plant when much less than one-half might maintain the plant. <br /> However, during an unfavorable growing season, removing one- <br /> half of the annual growth of a weekend plant may severely dam- <br /> age it. <br />^ If pastures or grazing units contain significant amounts of <br /> both warm and cool season forage plants, as fields #3, #7 and <br /> #9 do, the key species and key grazing areas may need to be <br />1 changed and as grazing periods are rotated in a planned grazing <br /> system. <br /> C. Cropping System Alternatives: <br /> 1. Non-Irrigated Land: Stripcropping shall be necessary to <br /> continue producing dryland annual crops on soil capability <br /> units IIIe-7, IIIe-8, IIIs-l, IIIc-l, IVe-4, IVe-1, IVe-9, <br />• VIe-l, VIe-2, or VIe-3 on non-irrigated lands. These <br /> soils are highly susceptible to wind erosion and therefore <br /> special practices are needed to protect them. Wheat is <br /> the main crop grown on these soils but other small grains <br /> can also be grown under this cropping system. Because <br /> of the limited precipitation, a system of summer fallow <br /> is necessary for maintaining yields. Summer fallowing <br /> is needed to conserve moisture and control weeds. Crop <br />residues need to be kept on the soil to maintain fetility <br /> and tilth, control erosion, and increase infiltration of <br /> water. <br /> The above soils make up the majority of the land farmed <br /> east of Road 55. A second alternative in managing these <br /> soils would be to plant them back to perennial grass. <br /> This is especially true along the east boundary where slopes <br /> are greater than 3 percent. These areas should never have <br /> been planted to annual grains or ever have been farmed. <br /> The C.R.P. (Conservation Reserve Program) has been made <br /> available through U.S.D.A. to re-establish such cropland <br /> back to native grasses. The program allows for ten years <br />of set aside payments, as well as cost sharing of the estab- <br />- 13 - <br />