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Pappy:
What is crp ?? is that some kind of program ?
  Pappy

iowabow:

--- Quote from: Pappy on July 10, 2014, 08:49:06 am ---What is crp ?? is that some kind of program ?
  Pappy

--- End quote ---
Yes it is called a conservation reserve program. This is mostly to prevent soil subject to erosion from washing away. Most likely when this pond was built a program was use to built it and many others like across iowa.
There are many different crp programs to enroll in and mine is a quail boarder plant seed mix.

Pappy:
They have some stuff like that in TN. how long to they have control over what you do? Some here are for a few years 2or3 ,and some are long term.  :) I have thought about it but hate the thought of someone telling me what I can and can't do,I would have never made a good soldier . ;) ;D ;D ;D not sure what trouble you are having with the pond but sure looks better to me.  :)
 Pappy

iowabow:

--- Quote from: Pappy on July 10, 2014, 10:21:52 am ---They have some stuff like that in TN. how long to they have control over what you do? Some here are for a few years 2or3 ,and some are long term.  :) I have thought about it but hate the thought of someone telling me what I can and can't do,I would have never made a good soldier . ;) ;D ;D ;D not sure what trouble you are having with the pond but sure looks better to me.  :)
 Pappy

--- End quote ---
I hear you on the control issue. Basically you have to be pretty sure that you are not going to change your mind about your goals for a particular part of your ground. Then if your goals and the government are in line then I would move forward.  They are investing in the concept of conservation and soil retention.  There is a value in this idea so they pay you to conserve. There are are also contract management practices that you need to follow which you are also reimbursed for. I had planned to do this anyway so it is a win win for the government and me.   The catch is you must pay it back if you change your mind and want to do something else with the ground. It becomes a zero lost on my end.
The real kick in the teeth was when I bought my first ten acres that I wanted to build my house on... After I bought the ground the government told me I had to buy the ground back from them...it was enrolled in crp and I had to pay out about 700 dollars before I could build on the ground. That was a win for the farmer who sold the ground to a non-farmer ...I did not understand the crp game.
I have learned a lot since then and understand the issues so it's a real individual thing for each land owner. As I drive around I see that most farmers here have ground in various programs the trick is to make sure you don't trap yourself with these programs.
So I have some stuff in and some stuff out. The 2 acres to the east of the pond sits in a 10 year program but it was rolled over to me at my request and so it only has 5 or so years left on it.

iowabow:
The main issue with the pond was nutrient accumulation from years of ag activity and tree litter. This accumulation creates conditions where duckweek thrives. So I am just trying to rebalance the current conditions with  many approaches. Cutting all those trees off the dam for example was to allow the wind to blow the duckweed to shore so light can enter the pond and create oxygen this will help the stuff on the bottom of the pond to decay. The trick is to do things so the fish don't die. The fish are the "cannery in the mine" so if we have fish we have oxygen.  It is a real mess but it is slowly getting better. I don't like using chemicals but if I don't the fish die due to lack of oxygen and then things don't decay ether. It is the chicken or the Egg issue.
JW is right about dilution being the solution. The overflow I dug is doing a good job also in flushing the duckweed out every time it rains. But it took years to get to this point now it may take year to repair it.

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