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By Elise Koning, Conservation Technology Information Center Project Director Researching soil health is, in some ways, similar to understanding human health. That’s according to soil scientist Andrew Margenot. He leads the DCB In-Field Team that is looking at soil...

Agricultural diversity includes a wide range of aspects, from the ground to the table, and insects and weeds are an important aspect of diversity on the ground that can help improve crop production. The on-farm aspect of diversification is analyzed by the DCB In-Field...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. producers struggled to find markets for their crops or livestock. Ariana Torres, Associate Professor of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, says even the best crops lack...

When the Diverse Corn Belt Project began, we needed a baseline, a foundation for knowing what farmers thought about diversification. In previous work, Emily Usher, DCB Project Manager, and Lauren Asprooth, a social scientist at Purdue University, had researched...

Diversity of insects, income streams, and products benefit the farm, market, and landscape levels we discussed in our previous post on why the Diverse Corn Belt project (DCB) was started. Now, let’s take a look at what agricultural diversification means from the soil...

Each spring, tiny corn plants emerge from rich, dark soil in the Midwest. Soybean leaves grow overnight. Summer arrives, and deep green fields stretch to the horizon. In autumn, golden leaves rustle in warm breezes, and combines race into the night to bring in the...