Giving Compass' Take:

• Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education provides information about the importance of maintaining crop diversity for farmers, communities, and the world. 

• How can funders help farmers follow important advice about crop diversification to improve their farms and communities? 

• Learn more about sustainable farming.

Farmers and agricultural scientists have known for years that crop rotations can break insect and disease cycles, reduce weeds, curb erosion, supplement soil nutrients, improve soil structure and conserve soil moisture.

Diversification can also:

  • soften impacts on environmental resources
  • spread farmers’ economic risk
  • exploit profitable niche markets
  • create new industries based on agriculture,
  • strengthening rural communities
    aid the domestic economy,
  • enabling producers to grow crops that would otherwise be imported.

This bulletin will provide you with a jumping-off point to diversify your farm, from choosing the right new crops to managing them successfully. While some alternative crops command high prices, others pay dividends by building natural resources or boosting the yields of rotational crops. And growing crops that require processing, for example, can provide jobs in your community.

Read the full article about maintaining crop diversity at Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education.