tools For Promoting Healthy Soil and Clean water While protecting farmers' income

We are employing three key tools, Ecosystem Services Markets, the BMP Challenge and Integrated Pest Management, to promote conservation practices that provide cleaner water, cleaner air and healthy natural habitats.  These tools also address barriers to adoption by lowering risk and involving markets to pay the farmer for environmental services.

Ecosystem Services Markets

Ecosystem Services Markets pay farmers for providing environmental benefits such as clean water, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat.  As one of the most cost-effective measures to improve the environment, agricultural conservation practices are a key part of these emerging markets.

BMP Challenge

The BMP Challenge allows farmers to reduce fertilizer use and utilize reduced tillage practices without risking a loss of income. Participating farmers can test Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have been developed to save money and maintain optimal yields while helping to protect our water and soil.

Expanding the Use of Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a wholly integrated approach to safely and effectively controlling insects, weeds and plant diseases. It is one of the most widely used approaches in the toolbox of best management practices that farmers can draw from to improve the environment.

Since 1997, AFT has worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, managing small grants programs that have helped 9,000 farmers on over 657,000 acres adopt Integrated Pest Management techniques. The success is spreading to neighboring farms, and these new IPM tools have the potential of reaching an additional 58,000 farmers on 10.6 million acres.