soil bank

American  

noun

1. a plan providing cash payments to farmers who cut production of certain surplus crops in favor of soil-enriching ones.

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soil bank British  

noun

1. (in the US) a federal programme by which farmers are paid to divert land to soil-enriching crops

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Other Word Forms

• soil-bank
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of soil bank

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

But county officials were concerned about how higher water would affect the steep soil bank supporting the paved hike and bike trail.

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2021

Main reasons are drought and cold weather, which not only cut yield per acre but also prompted farmers to plow their damaged crops under and join the Federal Government's soil bank.

From Time Magazine Archive

A fair-to-middling crop will likely yield him $1,200,000, plus his soil bank payments, or a profit of $600,000.

From Time Magazine Archive

He wanted a "soil bank" for agriculture, in which farmers would be paid for taking some of their land out of certain fields of production.

From Time Magazine Archive

I shall urge authorization of a soil bank program to alleviate the problem of diverted acres and an overexpanded agricultural plant.

From State of the Union Address by Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David)