An Economic Analysis of Level Bench Systems for Forage Production in North Dakota

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Level bench systems have more than doubled the yields of forage produced on slopes in the Northern Great Plains. Benches of this type were first introduced in the United States for study by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in 1955, but they have been used for centuries in other countries. Benches differ from conventional terraces in that the channels are much wider, are level in all directions, and are diked at the ends and at the front (downslope side) to give them more water storage capacity than conventional terraces (fig. 1). Some level bench systems are built with an unterraced area above each bench. This is called the ''contributing area" because it is intended to contribute runoff water to the bench. Level benches are built primarily for water conservation, and they serve the same purpose as conventional terraces in controlling soil erosion. This study analyzes the economic aspects of level benches. First, estimates were made of their profitability for the individual farmer, compared with conventional farming methods for land with similar soil and topography. Factors affecting the adoption of benches by farmers were examined, and estimates were developed of the potential land area on which benches would be economically feasible and otherwise desirable in a representative North Dakota county.