MORE MILKWEED FOR THE HEARTLAND- Politico Morning Ag report

MORE MILKWEED FOR THE HEARTLAND: The Environmental Defense Fund is engaging with farmers across the country about how best to incentivize them to help reestablish milkweed, the Monarch butterfly’s preferred grub. EDF staff and scientists just wrapped up visits with Nebraska corn farmers and are headed next to Iowa and Minnesota. It’s all part of an effort to stand up a Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange, a conservation initiative in which landowners get paid for preserving or creating habitat, while businesses that disrupt habitat can purchase credits, creating a market dynamic. The Monarch population is down an estimated 95 percent, a trend that many blame on lack of milkweed across the Midwest and elsewhere. EDF is currently running field tests and pilots and is aiming to get the exchange up and running by the end of 2017. Find the latest update from the group here. In case you missed it, Smithsonian Magazine’s cover story in July looked at the model of paying landowners for such conservation efforts. That deep-dive is here. Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture#ixzz4Ijp6bUzG Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook