Missouri is home to 95,000 farms — the second highest number of farms per state in the country.
Missouri is home to 95,000 farms — the second highest number of farms per state in the country. Farming is a way of life for people here, one that is increasingly threatened by the effects of a changing climate. Now more than ever, reforming the ways farmers practice their craft is vital for survival. Earlier this year, MU implemented the $25 million, statewide Missouri CRCL Project — funding that more than half of is going directly to farmers in the form of eight tailored incentive payments to support the adoption of climate-smart practices.
As part of the distribution of funds, the Missouri CRCL Project launched an app designed to expand the access to incentive payments for a diverse range of Missouri producers. Now, supported by a $650,000 National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) award from the Department of Agriculture, University of Missouri farm specialist Kelly Wilson and her team are working to refine the app to make it accessible, inclusive and user-friendly to as diverse a range of Missouri farmers as possible.
“Our hope is that having an easily accessible digital application will encourage farmers to apply — and be accepted for — incentive programs online,” said Wilson, the associate director of MU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture. “I’m thrilled to help facilitate the distribution of this funding to as many of Missouri’s farmers as possible so they can adjust to the changing climate while keeping their profits up. With so many farmers across the state, adopting practices like cover crops and regenerative grazing is paramount to successful future yields.”
Read more at: University of Missouri
Kelly Wilson and Rob Myers observe the flowering clover cover crop on Sanborn Field. (Photo Credit: Abbie Lankitus)
