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Diversification Stories: In Keota, Iowa, Multiple Uses for Modest Acreage
This story is the first in a series of diversification case studies showcasing how people in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana are diversifying their farms, markets, and landscapes. When Tim Sieren talks about his 350 acres near Keota, Iowa, at farm shows, or even the total of 800 acres he farms with his brothers Scott and Jamie, he doesn’t get a lot of attention…
Horizon Scans Yield Compelling Concepts for Rural Landscape Diversification
For Diverse Corn Belt participants and partners, the process of futuring has provided a fascinating and instructive picture of what’s possible in the rural landscape.Futuring aims to discover many possible outcomes for a particular business or market based on the impacts of emerging and evolving trends….
Envisioning Rural Landscape Diversity with the Help of AI
A picture can paint a thousand words. And in the emerging science of text-to-image generative artificial intelligence, the Diverse Corn Belt Project’s (DCB) Reimagining Agricultural Diversity (RAD) Teams are using this technology to turn rural landscape words and...
The Ethics of Diversification: Philosophy’s Role in DCB
If you ask 100 farmers why they raise corn and soybeans, you will receive 100 different answers. “There isn’t a single motivation that’s driving everybody,” DCB Team member Michael Tiboris says. “It’s really easy to look at the landscape, the homogeneity in the...
DCB Engages with Farmers through Farm Tours and Field Days
This summer, DCB Team members spoke at several field days, ranging from water quality, insect control, and weed management. DCB also supported field days and hosted a farm tour series in northwest and west central Indiana….
Seeking Shelter Under the Foodshed
The notion of diversification is nothing new to farming, but taking the initial steps forward is both unfamiliar and risky. The Diverse Corn Belt Modeling Team is building a case for diversification by examining food production as it currently exists and what it could...
Something’s Brewing: Coffee and a Soil Health Smell Test
If you’re a coffee lover, there might be no better smell than the early-morning aroma of fresh java diffusing through your home. Depending on your preference, that smell—and the coffee’s taste—could be nutty, smooth, or sweet. Those flavors are analyzed through coffee...
Where the Water Goes: Studying Water Quality and Hydrology in Diversified Ag Systems
Connecting landscapes, farm-level economic decisions, air quality, and water quality is part of discovering how diversified agricultural systems can succeed. Making those connections is one of the challenges the DCB Modeling Team is tackling. Monitoring water quality...
Farmers, Researchers, Writers, and More Share Results and Vision at DCB All-Team Meeting
One of the Diverse Corn Belt Project’s (DCB) strengths is the collaboration of several disciplines in gathering insights about farming systems in the Midwest. That strength was showcased at the recent DCB All-Team Meeting in Davenport, IA. More than 35 members of the...
Developing Systems Thinking: Resources for Teachers Created by DCB
Creating a system where all farmers can succeed is part of the challenge of agricultural diversification. The Diverse Corn Belt Project is researching how diversifying the Corn Belt can work for everyone. Systems thinking is a good place to start. Natalie Hunt, a...
The Dimensions of Soil Health: Measuring Soil Properties in the Field
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 health in a variety of systems across Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. “Doctors...
Insects, Weeds, and Crop Productivity: Entomological Research of the DCB In-Field Team
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...
DCB Market Research: Translating Value from the Farm to the Table
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...
Farmer Focus Groups: The Foundation of the DCB Project
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...
From the Ground Up: Agricultural Diversity at All Levels of the Farm
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...