What are STRIPS? If you watched the video that I linked above (watch it, it’s pretty cool!) you might know that STRIPS stands for Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips. STRIPS is a research project through Iowa State University, located at Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge that is investigating the usage of prairie strips in farmland conservation practice, specifically for row crops. The row crops typical in Iowa are corn and soybeans. The mission of the STRIPS project is to “strive to more fully understand the assembly, management, function, and value of prairie strips; to communicate our results to diverse audiences; and to assist others with the implementation of prairie strips on farm fields.”
We visited on of the STRIPS research plots located on the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge and met with Dr. Schulte-Moore.
The vision of the STRIPS project is:
A future in which prairie strips are integrated with other agricultural conservation practices to foster the production of healthy food and sustainable fuel, and the protection and maintenance of clean water, resilient soils, and diverse and abundant wildlife and beneficial insects. We regard our project as an important way to make farming and environmental quality harmonious. (Iowa State University)
Dr. Schulte-Moore was very convincing. Her data met scientific standards and the results were compelling. According to the project, prairie strips work, and by converting farmland into prairie strips of as little as 10% was responsible for reducing erosion by 93%. Additionally, they reduce nitrogen run off by 84% and phosphorus run off by 90%.
Since the STRIPS researchers have 10 years of data from small plots on the Neal Smith Wildlife refuge, they are expanding their experiment to over 30 farms in the Midwest, with the majority located in Iowa. On approximately half of these farms, they are conducting bird counts and animal data, and on the rest they are conducting Nitrogen and erosion testing. Since they have only conducted this phase for two years, they have not published data from this stage yet.
One of the benefits of prairie strips is that they are cheaper than comparable conservation practices. For example, “financial analysis demonstrates that the cost per treated acre of prairie strips is highly affordable compared to many other conservation practices. Depending on opportunity costs, the cost per treated acre ranges from $24 to $35”. Additionally, farmers can apply for cost-sharing programs through the USDA.
One of the common themes of this course is the division between “conventional ag” and sustainable ag.” Because of this, I especially enjoyed the STRIPS project, as it was working to make conventional ag sustainable, at a lower price.