Diversified farming systems bryant

71st SWCS International Annual Conference
July 24-27, 2016
Louisville, KY

1. Lara Bryant, Natural Resources Defense Council Diversified Farming
Systems
SWCS Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY July 2016

2. •“In Iowa…corn and soybeans now occupy 63% of the state’s
total land area and 82% of its cropland.” (Liebman and
Schulte 2015)
•Findings from Aguilar, et al. 2015:
•Cornbeltregion diversity declined from 1978 to 2012,
and
•it is the least diverse region.
•“Since 1945, corn and soybean acreage increased 29 and
80%, respectively, in the U.S. Corn Belt.” (Sulcand Tracy
2007)
2
Diversified Agriculture in the MRB

3. Incorporating livestock into
the crop rotation Image: USDA, Ryan Thompson
3
Replace a portion of corn
and soy acres with other
crops (perennials) Image: Wikimedia Commons
Crop rotations of three or
more years and continuous
living cover, cover crops Image: USDA NRCS South Dakota
A more diverse Corn Belt…

4. •Soil health
•Water quality
•Climate resilience
•Pest and disease cycles
•Weed control
•Drought and flood
•Climate mitigation
•Improved habitat for pollinators
and wildlife
4
Image: Luc Viatourwww.lucnix.be
Environmental Benefits

5. 1. Climate Resilience
2. Climate mitigation
3. Water quality
4. Soil health
5
Graphic: NRDC, Climate Ready Soil
Climate Ready Soil findings

6. • Centralized (monoculture) agriculture has been drawing
resources away from rural communities (Iles and Marsh
2012)
• Increased profitability to farmer; lower inputs, higher yields
• On the flip side….there are also risks, and the benefits
aren’t guaranteed….
• Risk management strategy
6
Economic Benefits

7. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Total Payout ($ Billions)
Year
Federal Crop Insurance Payouts

8. • Economic and Legislative
• True costs are not internalized or passed on to
consumers (Iles and Marsh 2012)
• Specialization found to be more profitable (Aguilar
2015, Swenson 2010, Weingarten 2016)
• Policy incentives for monoculture row crops (Lin 2011)
• Crop insurance replacing the need for other risk
management strategies
8
Barriers to Diversification

9. •Cultural
• Belief that specialization more productive (Lin 2011)
• Not enough resources for DFS
• Negative peer pressure
• Diversified farming lacks positive social branding (Iles
and Marsh 2012)
9
Barriers to Diversification

10. • Operational Challenges
• Equipment, labor, lack of resources and information on
alternate crops
•Market
• Probably the major barrier in the literature review
10
Barriers to Diversification

11. 1. Risk management
2. Desire to try new markets
3. Supportive community
4. Wish for a lifestyle change; ideology
11
Drivers of Diversification

12. • Can’t be forced.
• Grassroots and CDFI can connect farmers to regional supply
chains.
• Educate consumers on benefits of DFS; branding or
standards
12
Policy Opportunities -Market

13. • Redistribute subsidies
• Create new crop insurance products (example: Whole Farm
Insurance)
• Improve credit access for DFS
• Branding for DFS and regional foods
• Invigorate markets with SNAP dollars (Iles and Marsh 2012)
• Loan forgiveness for sustainable/DFS farmers
13
Policy Opportunities –Institutional

14. • Research, Technical Assistance, Decision Support Tools
• Other areas for exploration
• Educate public institutions on sourcing from DFS
• Develop guidelines and best practices
• Promote DFS through existing programs
• Assess landowner and lender awareness of DFS
• Develop messaging to promote DFS
14
Other Policy Opportunities

15. • Reexamine barriers within crop insurance program
• Improve access to land
• Improve credit access
• Educate consumers on benefits of DFS
15
Conclusion

16. Thank you

17. Benefits of DFS
Davis AS, Hill JD, Chase CA, Johanns AM, Liebman M (2012) Increasing Cropping System Diversity Balances Productivity, Profitability and Environmental 
Health. PLoS ONE 7(10): e47149. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047149
“[H]erbicideinputs in 
the 3‐yr and 4‐yr 
rotation plots were 6 
to 10 times lower, and 
freshwater toxicity 200 
times lower, than in 
the 2‐yr rotation.”