 For greater success in lowering the erosion, contour strips on the slopes need to follow the contours of the landscape.Row crops like corn, legumes, or soybeans should alternate strips of small grains or forages to successfully limit erosion and slowing or capturing the runoff of fertilizers and pesticides.Tests from the NRCS have shown that the smaller tighter rooted grasses and hays provide more surface cover to prevent rain and wind erosion while slowing runoff, increasing infiltration, and trapping sediment from the high erosive row crops.