Thirty-eight states are part of a new pilot project through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to use “high tunnels” – more commonly known as “hoop houses” in the swine industry – for vegetable production. The NRCS in those states will provide financial assistance through several of its programs including the EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program), funding one high tunnel per eligible farm.
NRCS resource conservationist in Missouri, Bob Ball, tells Brownfield they’ll be studying the environmental benefits of high tunnel production, “We’re minimizing run-off and erosion within that surface area of ground. We’re trying to increase the soil nutrient availability in that area. One of the concerns would be run-off from these structures and we’re going to have to deal with that using some other conservation practices at the perimeter of the house to catch the flow that’s coming off the surface area.”
Ball says the three-year pilot study is part of the Obama Administration’s “Know your farmer, know your food initiative.” He says the idea is to place these tunnels on farms where there are markets for fresh, local produce nearby. Ball says it’s a good fit for the St. Louis area, “This same enterprise might be applicable in other parts of the state as well, where they’ve got local markets. So, we’re going to be developing this with University Extension, using their horticultural specialist, and we’ll probably look to them for a lot of expertise on where to focus the attention.”
NRCS says the high tunnels are made of plastic or metal pipe ribbing covered with a layer of plastic sheeting, “easy to build, maintain and move.”
NRCS will fund one high tunnel per farm. High tunnels in the study can cover as much as five-percent of one acre. Among the participating states are: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Interview with Bob Ball, Missouri State Resource Conservationist, at the Missouri Soil & Water Conservation Districts annual meeting
NRCS – High Tunnel Pilot Project
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