Ames, Iowa — Iowa State University researchers are part of an effort led by Purdue University to diversify the corn belt.
ISU sociology professor J. Arbuckle says farmers once planted many different crops on their land.
The crops became less diversified with the advent of chemicals to deal with pests and weeds, and the use of mechanized farm machines. Arbuckle says farmers started specializing in soybeans and corn.
There’s also a boom and bust pattern for the price of those commodities. He says this project is looking at ways to add some diversity back into the system.
They hope to find some of the answers with the ten-million-dollar USDA grant.
The team includes more than 30 investigators who are working with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois to envision and evaluate more diverse agricultural systems for the Midwest.
