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Fertilizer runoff has been linked to the contamination of local watersheds and to the creation of more than 150 hypoxic dead zones in rivers, gulfs, bays and oceans worldwide. Conventional tillage methods can impact air quality and cause soil erosion. One of the best ways to shrink the dead zones is reducing the over-application of nitrogen fertilizers. Reduced tillage practices burn less fossil fuels, help reduce the release of greenhouse gases from the soil into the air by sequestering carbon and stem soil runoff into lakes, rivers and streams.
AFT's innovative solution, the BMP (Best Management Practices) Challenge, makes it easier for farmers to reduce fertilizer use and utilize reduced tillage practices while being protected from any potential 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.
 helping farmers save money, improve stewardship and sleep soundly
The Nutrient BMP Challenge™ and Reduced Tillage BMP Challenge™ pay farmers cash if yield and income are reduced while using nutrient or reduced tillage Best Management Practices. To participate, one or more fields are enrolled in the program before the application of commercial fertilizer. Traditional fertilizer rates or tillage practices are used on a check strip in each enrolled field. The BMP fertilizer rates or tillage practices are used on the balance of the field. Crop yields are assessed at harvest, and any farmer experiencing lower yields with the BMP fertilizer application rate or tillage practice will be reimbursed the difference. In any one year, BMPs may not result in maximum yields, but they are designed to deliver maximum economic returns over time.
AFT's Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center began the BMP risk management project in 1996 with a broad survey of BMPs, cropping systems and analyses of economic risks as barriers to BMP adoption, including nutrient management and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
Nutrient BMP test results on fields in four Midwestern states showed a reduction in fertilizer use by 24 percent while fully protecting farm income.
In 2005, a conservation tillage program on thousands of acres in
Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin
reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 69 percent and soil erosion by up to 78 percent.
who's eligible?
Farmers in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington who grow corn for grain and silage are eligible for the program.
The BMP Challenge is supported in part by grants from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Altria Group, McKnight Foundation and the Great Lakes Protection Fund. Note: AFT and its public partners are exempt from any liability associated with the commercial service guarantee contract between Agflex and the farmer. Project collaborators include Agflex, the IPM Institute of North America, Agren and IPM Works.
Contact Us
For more information about the BMP Challenge, contact:
BMP Challenge
American Farmland Trust
Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center
Brian Brandt, Director of Risk Management
50 West Broad Street, Suite 3250
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 221-8610
bbrandt@farmland.org
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