With Corn Belt Inching North, Farm Diversification Gains Momentum

Photo caption: A conventional cornfield sits behind Josh Payne’s diversified forage land on July 20 in Concordia. Payne’s own farm had these uniform cornfields 12 years ago before he began working in regenerative practices. Photo credit: Jia Wu, Columbia Missourian. Article by Adam Goldstein. Columbia Missourian – August 23rd, 2022.

CONCORDIA, MISSOURI — Corn and soybeans once covered Josh Payne’s farm as far as the eye could see. Tidy rows of green and brown marched across his 600 acres from spring to fall, kept in line by tillage, and herbicide. Though Payne’s operation was the picture of modern agriculture, he could not shake a general dissatisfaction.

Today, Payne calls his farm “a messy, complex, diverse life worth living.” Gone are the corn and soy, replaced by a diversified farm that includes various animals, nuts and fruits. […]

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