This week, South Dakota Senator John Thune introduced his Soil Health and Income Protection Program Legislation. SHIPP allows farmers to voluntarily enroll their marginal acres in a short term three to five year conservation program. Bryant area farmer Doug Noem who serves on the South Dakota Corn Growers Board says the program could be beneficial for some producers.

He doesn’t think SHIPP would work for his operation but it may be valuable for other growers to consider.

Noem says grass seed can be costly so that’s a consideration if one decides to idle acres for the SHIPP program.

Noem says another possible problem with SHIPP is that sometimes marginal areas could be located in the middle of the field making it difficult to set aside.