Farm finance and conservation: how stewardship generates value for farmers, lenders, insurers and landowners

Conservation can deliver measurable economic value to farmers and their financial partners, according to a report from EDF and K·Coe Isom AgKnowledge – Farm finance and conservation: How stewardship generates value for farmers, lenders, insurers and landowners.

Three corn, soy and wheat farmers – Scott Henry of Iowa, Justin Knopf of Kansas and Josh Yoder of Ohio – opened their books to provide a transparent look at how conservation practices impact real-world farm budgets and profitability. Their experiences and a comparative analysis of ten additional Midwestern farmers show that conservation can pay.

Overall, farmers realized substantial returns on investments. The value of diversified income streams, increased yield resilience, lowered costs and reduced risk extended far beyond the farm field.