Buffer Strips, Waterways & Filter Strips

Buffer strips, grassed waterways, and filter strips are areas of permanent vegetation that are designed to slow or capture the movement of water off field before it reaches drainage ditches and creeks. These strips can be either introduced species (commonly brome grass) or native species and they are located between creeks or ditches and the neighboring cropland.

These practices take acres out of production but provide numerous incredibly important ecosystem services. Perhaps the most valuable benefit is their ability to reduce soil erosion from water movement. They also provide wildlife and pollinator habitat and improve downstream water quality.