Win-Win Opportunities: How Diversifying Farm Operations Can Lead to On-Farm Environmental and Economic Gain

Abstract

Hailing from a suburb of Boston, I have almost no experience with a farming lifestyle. Yet, I do know that farming is one of the toughest and most underappreciated jobs in our country. Despite bearing the brunt of the responsibility for our nation’s food production, and often not earning much compensation, farmers also receive the blame for many environmental issues, such as harmful algal blooms like the one in Lake Menomin. Although it is true that nutrient-heavy runoff from agricultural land is a major contributor to lake pollution, this is merely a reflection of the systems in place in the Red Cedar watershed: agriculture is the largest use of land in the area, and simple corn-soybean rotations comprise the overwhelming majority of farmland.

While the amount of farmland in Dunn County is likely to remain constant, the practices used on these farms could be altered to limit the amount of nutrient-rich runoff and subsequently improve water quality in the area. One strategy to reach this goal is to incorporate more diversity through practices such as cover crops, an increased crop rotation, crop-livestock integration, agroforestry, or a combination of these. Countless studies and native knowledge affirm the many soil health and other ecosystem benefits of diversification; the soil retains more nutrients and water, the fields become more resistant to weeds, pests, and diseases, and biodiversity increases.

Although these practices benefit the environment, and therefore everyone living in the area, it is unclear if they are profitable for the farmers implementing them. The goal of my research project is to determine just that; are diversification practices, specifically cover crops or an increase of crops in rotation, profitable in comparison to a standard corn-soybean rotation?

To address this question, I collected USDA data on the costs, yields, and selling price of corn, soybean, and rye. I then aggregated information from academic literature, surveys, field experiments, and local experts to determine reasonable and conservative estimates of the financial effects of implementing a simple rye cover crop or adding rye into the crop rotation. I found that in the short-term, these two diversification practices were not as profitable as the corn-soybean rotation, but in the long-term both practices are more profitable than the baseline scenario. The well-documented environmental benefits help reduce fertilizer and pesticide costs, while also promoting increased yields which boost revenues. Furthermore, in years of drought, both cover crops and a more diverse crop rotation help reduce economic losses, as yield losses are not as severe when diversification measures are used. Droughts and other extreme weather are becoming more frequent and intense, so building resilience through diversification is crucial. Every farm is unique, which means that the profitability of these diversification practices will vary from farm to farm, but the results of these analyses offer promising insights for win-win opportunities that incorporate practices that improve the environment for everyone, and profitability for farmers.