washing away the soil. Further, much of the moisture stays in the soil because this method traps the water that would run off in traditional farming methods “Contour farming is a well-established soil-protection method where crops are planted around hillsides instead of up and down them, reducing water damage. Twenty-six million acres are farmed this way” (Webster 1).
Contour farming uses planting, plowing, and other land management practices along land contours. Established grades, terraces, or diversions are followed in order to reduce erosion, sediment production, and the transport of pollutants to neighboring water bodies. What follows is an example of contour planting as it is applied to the hilly fields of Southern Alabama wh
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