Missouri corn and soybean farmers have a new opportunity to help pollinators, birds and other wildlife in 2022 and improve their bottom line in the process.
The first-of-its-kind, two-year pilot project will quantify and certify biodiversity credits. The program will deliver benefits to Missouri and its farmers in three big ways, according to Gary Wheeler, CEO and Executive Director of the Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, and the Foundation for Soy Innovation.
“First, it will provide a direct tangible benefit to the natural resources of our state. Secondly it will raise awareness and increase recognition of the efforts of farmers working to improve sustainability practices on their farms. Lastly the pilot will bolster and help stand up new emerging innovative markets; markets that can bring added value to farmer’s bottom line,” writes Wheeler in an online blog.
Along with Missouri soybean programs, the pilot is being launched in partnership with the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Department of Conservation, MFA Incorporated and the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC).
Financial Incentives Available
Missouri farmers who create or enhance pollinator habitat in areas along fence rows, waterways, or on other non-productive agricultural ground can qualify for financial incentives, according to Bill White, community and private land conservation branch chief with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
“Farmers will be compensated for their participation based on the number and diversity of flowering plants used as well as the width or area of the buffer planted,” White says. “The wider the buffers planted the more positive impact they have on bobwhite quail and pollinators.
“What we’re seeing in our bumblebee surveys here in Missouri is that they are really responding to this type of diverse habitat,” White adds. “We have 450-some odd species of native bees in Missouri along with moths, butterflies, hummingbirds and other at-risk species.”
He anticipates the financial incentive will average around $100 per acre for corn and soybean growers who develop or enhance pollinator-friendly habitat.
More Opportunities In 2022
The biodiversity pilot project is the latest in a portfolio of more than 10 projects ESMC has launched to test and refine its market program for full market launch in 2022. The pilots test ESMC’s processes for credit generation and sales and ensure all other program aspects are operational and meet grower and buyer needs.
“Our members have asked for opportunities to invest in increasing biodiversity through their agricultural supply chains,” notes ESMC Executive Director Debbie Reed, in a press release.
“Through ESMC’s unique nonprofit public-private-partnership, we’re creating an opportunity to increase biodiversity while adding to the current demand for carbon, water quality, and water conservation credits. Our ability to stack credits and compensate farmers and ranchers is a value-added opportunity for all our members.”
Missouri farmers interested in learning more about the pilot biodiversity project and creating pollinator-friendly landscapes in tandem with the current carbon pilot program are encouraged to visit www.mocarbonpilot.com.
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