soil bank
Definition
- Noun:
- A government agricultural program where farmers are paid to remove land from crop production and plant it with specific grasses, legumes, or trees to improve soil quality and reduce surplus commodity production.
Usage
- The term "soil bank" specifically refers to the program itself or the collective land enrolled in it. It is a historical term, primarily associated with U.S. agricultural policy in the mid-20th century.
- Example: "To combat soil erosion and control crop surpluses, the farmer enrolled 50 acres in the soil bank."
Advanced Usage
- The concept functions as a metaphorical "bank" where soil fertility and health are deposited or saved for future use, rather than depleted through continuous cultivation.
Variants and Related Words
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): A modern U.S. program with similar goals to the historical soil bank, where land is idled under contract for conservation purposes.
- Set-aside: A more general term for land taken out of agricultural production, often under a government program.
Synonyms
- Land retirement program
- Conservation program
Related Phrases/Idioms
- : The action of enrolling farmland in this specific program.
- Example: "During the 1950s, many farmers chose to place land in the soil bank to receive government payments."
Noun
-
land retired from crop cultivation and planted with soil-building crops; government subsidies are paid to farmers for their retired land
