Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities for Climate-Resilient Agriculture by Optimizing Federal Crop Insurance

Climate change is devastating global agricultural and economic systems. Nature-based solutions that promote conservation agriculture can address these challenges while mitigating climate change. We propose a pilot crop insurance and research program in the U.S. Northern Plains to promote practices that enhance farm soil health, income, and resilience while mitigating climate change. Such a program could inform nationwide adoption of such practices. We specifically propose eliminating requirements for fallow to insure wheat, funding development of regionally-adapted leguminous crops, and incentivizing whole farm insurance over single-crop yield-focused offerings to promote economic growth and climate-resilient practices. The policies extend across a spectrum of cost, legislative burden, political capital, and time-scales for implementation and impact, offering a balanced and gradual transition to conservation agriculture. Adopted jointly, these recommendations improve farm resilience to climate change by promoting soil health and crop diversification while reducing emissions.