How to have Great CRP Stand

(Pssst, We talk much more in depth about this in our podcast, The Prairie Farm Podcast. You’re going to love it.)

*insert obligatory blog back story*

Now that is out of the way, let’s dive in.

As you know CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) in the Midwest primarily consists of prairie grasslands. There can be a huge difference in quality though. At its peak, a prairie grassland can attract deer, pheasant, quail, and a LOT more, while being stunningly beautiful. At its worst, a CRP field can devolve into a weedy brome patch. If you’re aiming to have an incredible CRP field, it’s not likely you have to spend a lot more money. Here’s what you need.

To have great CRP, you need 3 main things.

-              Prep the land well.

-              A great seed mix

-              Post-planting Maintenance

1.        Prepping the land well primarily requires removing the current vegetation. If you are planting into previous row crop, then this task is almost non-existant, especially if you choose to plant in the fall. If you plant in the spring, you may want to wait to plant until the first of June and spray sometime late May.

If you are planting into previous CRP or pasture field, this gets a little trickier. We recommend spraying in the fall, then spraying again the next spring, then planting. This will help make sure the brome and other cool season grasses don’t take over.

2.         A great seed mix is imperative. Think of it as your ceiling. Your prairie field can never be better than the mix you start with. At Hoksey, we try to go above and beyond on the seed mix. When looking at the seed mix, you primarily want to check two things. The first is how many species are in the mix total. Is it only four or five? Then I can guarantee you won’t create a high-quality prairie ecosystem. You might create a house for a few birds, but you’ll have more birds and more of everything else if you have high diversity. The second thing you want to look at is how much Big Bluestem and Switchgrass are in the mix. These two species will dominate if you are not careful. We recommend keeping each of them less than 4 seeds per square foot (a figure you can check on the seed mix sheet). If it is more than that, they will crowd out the other grasses and flowers. The only exception is if you are making a screen for deer. They like the tall, thick patches of grasses. If you have any questions about creating a mix, please reach out to us, and we’d be happy to help.

3.        Maintenance is third major factor in getting a great CRP stand. There are two major parts to maintenance—mowing and burning. For mowing we have a rule of thumb, “When it gets knee height, hit it down to your ankles.” So if you’re thinking, “how often do I need to mow my CRP planting?” it ends up being about once a month. Do this the first year, and until the Fourth of July the second year. Afterwards, you should be good to go. As for burning, this should happen starting year 4, and you should burn AT LEAST every 4 years, preferably every three years. To learn when and how, check out this blog here.

We hope this helps lead you into having a great CRP stand. There are, of course, unlimited questions that people can have, so reach out to us anytime with questions.

If you’re looking for CRP mixes, check out our mixes here.

Blessings!

The Hoksey Team