Voa Agriculture Report - Farming Marginal Lands

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is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. To call "marginal" means it is not very good. Farmers have own way to describe it. Marginal land is the to be planted under good conditions and the first be avoided when situations are bad. Low quality soil not the only reason why land could be considered . The land might be in an area where rainfall limited. Or it might be on a hillside that too sharply. Yet there are uses for marginal land. often it is used as grassland. Grasses provide excellent for grazing animals like cattle, sheep and goats. A might use native grasses or non-native seed. Either way, is important to establish good ground cover to avoid loss of soil through erosion. Forage crops like clover alfalfa could be planted. These members of the legume provide high protein food for grazing animals. They also the quality of the soil. Most plants use up . But legumes put nitrogen back into the soil. Forage also help limit erosion. But using marginal land for is not as simple as it might sound. There a risk of overgrazing. Cattle can damage forage crops eating down to the roots. Also, the animals crush soil with their weight. That can make the ground hard for growing. A way to reduce the damage to move animals from one field to another. This is known as rotational grazing. Agricultural experts say rotational is extremely important for marginal land. Another use for land is for tree crops. Studies have shown that white pine and loblolly pine are two kinds of that grow well on such land. They grow fast provide good quality wood. Another kind to consider is poplar. And there are slower-growing trees like the black that provide wood as well as a nut crop. help support the soil. They reduce the damaging effects wind and rain. And they can provide grazing animals shade from the sun. Marginal lands need care to them. Failing to take that care might only make bad situation worse. But good planning can turn a resource into a highly productive one. This VOA Special Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts and files of our reports are at voaspecialenglishcom.. If you a question about agriculture, send it to specialvoanewscom@.. Please us your name and where you are from. We be able to answer your question on our program. Bob Doughty.

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