CRP: Conservation Reserve Program

What is CRP?

Quoted from the Farm Service Agency webpage:

"The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a land conservation program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10-15 years in length. The long-term goal of the program is to re-establish valuable land cover to help improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat."

Earlier this month I wrote about the pollinator-friendly planting I visited on a nearby farm. That day I also visited the CRP section on the same farm. It's a long, curved strip between a few terraces adjacent to corn and bean fields. And when I visited it, it was full of loads of purple prairie clover!

Everywhere you looked was purple and yellow. The clover and the gray headed coneflower were the most prominent species. 

I also found tick-trefoil:

Illinois bundle flower:

Wild white indigo with green seed pods:

It was really fun riding the gator around! I was also able to pick some stems for a bouquet! (Pick...not exactly. I used a wire cutter that was in the gator. Prairie flower stems are very tough and you can't just "pick" them.)