Soil Preservation Policies

The effects of soil erosion.

Soil preservation policies are also known as soil conservation policies. These policies were enacted to reduced soil erosion, which became a major problem starting in the 1930s. Since then, many goals on soil erosion have been met.

History

Preserving the soil has been a topic of the Federal Natural Resource Program starting almost a century ago in the United States. In the 1930s the government began mandating and enforcing policies to conserve soil, especially on agricultural lands.

Reasons

The main reason behind soil preservation was to reduce soil erosion, which created havoc on farmers through severe dust storms and polluted drinking water sources. The Soil Conservation Act of 1935 implemented controls and preservation of soil, which preserved natural resources, created flood control, prevented damages to reservoirs, and protected human and environmental health.

Significance

Soil erosion has been significantly reduced. According to the Agricultural Economic Report of June 2004, the reduction in soil erosion can be contributed to the Conservation Compliance program. The Conservation Compliance program is a cost-sharing program with farmers to maintain highly erodible lands.

References

• Springerlink: Soil Conservation Policy in the United States
• USDA: Environmental Compliance in U.S. Agricultural Policy: Past Performance and Future Potential
• Amber Waves: Have Conservation Compliance Incentives Reduced Soil Erosion?

Resources

• U.S. Natural Resource Coonservation Service: What Is Soil Conservation?