I wouldn' t call Kansas ' up north' , but I suppose that I' m farther north that you are, we' ve got tons of CRP, it makes for AWESOME hunting grounds for any type of game. Conservation Reserve Program, that' d be it, basically the land owner ges to put it in for 10-15 yrs, on a renewable contract, the only ' interference' they' re allowed is to either burn it or bale it at the end of the summers, since it stimulates awesome regrowth for the next year and it would be a fire hazard otherwise. They also get pilot sprayed for certain weeds and thistles. At one point, my grandfather told me that if you bought some land, and made it CRP, kept it for two terms you wouldn' t have anything for the terms, but at the end you' d have the land virtually for free. We just got on a new deal where we keep a herd of wild burrows, 2000 head, at the end of ten years we' ll own a 10,000acre ranch, no work in the summer, but hauling bales all day during the winter, no other interference, just feeding, no doctoring-not allowed.