A Terrace System ls Incomplete— 
Unless terrace outlets are protected from washing. Raw, untreated outlets mean 
soil and water wastage and decreased production. 
If your farm has a good grass cover on which to empty the terraces, you may safely 
start terrace construction as socn as lines are run. Make the individual terrace 
outlet on the grassed area level and at lecst 6 feet across. Don't leave anything 
(fence posts, stakes, brush) in the outlets to fill the channel or encourage cutting. 
But if your farm doesn’t have meadow or pasture cn which to release terrace 
water, the first step in establishing a terrace system is to develop soil-holding grass 
cover where the water is to be spilled. Don’t build the terraces until the grass is 
well established; otherwise erosion damage is likely to be severe where water is 
emptied. The grassed area should be at least 100 feet wide. 
This photograph shows how a grassed drainageway fits into and completes the 
soil conservation treatment of a field. Each terrace spills water directly onto the 
thick grass carpet. There is no erosion in terrace outlets. Much terrace water 
soaks into the soil, and the remainder flows slowly and without damage to the natural 
drain at the lower end of the drainageway. 
If the drainageway is situated so that it can be connected conveniently with a 
pasture, it may be fenced for grazing. If it is not easily reached by livestock, or is 
not needed for pasture, the drainageway may be used as a meadow for hay. 
Good management practices that are used in the maintenance of any pasture or 
meadow should be followed. Handled in this manner, the drainageway will provide 
hay or forage vitally needed in the production of more food. 
Farmers who have grassed drainageways value them highly. Extra water from 
terraces helps to produce hay or grazing during the drought years. 
sm tne 
