A new report identifies challenges to agricultural diversification in the Corn Belt andpolicy 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…