By Rachel Cramer
A new report identifies challenges to agricultural diversification in the Corn Belt and policy changes that could make it easier to grow different crops or integrate livestock and trees.
The findings build on previous focus groups, interviews and surveys with farmers across Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, where 94% of crop production is dedicated to corn and soybeans.
“Farmers across the region are frustrated with their lack of cropping options,” said J. Arbuckle, a rural sociologist at Iowa State University during an Iowa Farmers Union webinar Thursday.
Arbuckle is part of the Diverse Corn Belt Project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and involves 10 universities, Practical Farmers of Iowa and The Nature Conservancy.
“Almost all the farmers we talked to understand that diversified systems can have major economic and agroecological benefits, such as soil health, reduced reliance on purchased inputs, smoother incomes, more stable yields and profits over time,” Arbuckle said. “But [almost everyone said,] ‘I don’t see a way to get there given the way the system is set up.’”
Arbuckle said that led to meetings in each state over three years with farmers, landowners, agriculture retailers, crop advisors, nonprofits, bankers, agency staff, processors and policymakers.
Their ideas were boiled down into "Diversifying the Corn Belt: Policy Pathways for a Resilient Agricultural Future."
One of the focus areas is crop insurance, said Paige Frautschy, the agriculture program director for the Iowa chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
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