Every summer a pond at Rusted Plowshare farm in central Missouri used to fill with algae blooms as rows of corn and soybeans stretched across the landscape with native grasses and wildflowers, and there hadn’t been a quail sighting in 40 years. That changed dramatically when Josh Payne planted 20 acres of chestnut saplings in 2017, eventually expanding to 200 acres of chestnut trees with sheep grazing beneath them after stopping corn and soy production entirely, and now the pond stays clear year round. Payne says there’s just a lot more diverse life at the farm with many things that don’t have a place in the corn and soy scenario coming back to the land naturally.
The Savanna Institute explains that incorporating trees and shrubs into working agricultural landscapes helps farmland behave more like nature intended. Across the Midwest about 127 million acres is devoted to agriculture with three quarters of that in corn and soy, crops that financially squeeze farmers through low commodity prices. Tree roots make ground spongier and better able to hold water while minimizing erosion, with dense root systems reducing nutrient runoff and mixed vegetation supporting biodiversity, all while allowing farmers to continue harvesting crops unlike conservation practices requiring land removal from production. An acre of mature chestnuts can net $10,000 or more according to the University of Missouri’s Center for Agroforestry, providing nice lifestyle options for small farmers where alternatives are limited, and nut trees can generate income for decades offering multi generational resilience as 70 percent of U.S. farmland changes hands in coming decades. The transformation at Rusted Plowshare and farms across the Midwest proves that switching from commodity crops to nut trees creates a yes and situation where environmental health and farmer profits can thrive together.
