A hotter atmosphere is causing rain to fall in harder bursts, pushing back planting seasons and drowning crops. At the same time as human-driven climate change is juicing precipitation, Corn Belt farming practices such as installing underground drainage tiles and leaving fields bare after harvest are changing how water moves across the landscape and into waterways.

USDA’s Risk Management Agency rolled out PACE earlier this year to support stewardship of fertilizer, and it will continue to be offered in select counties of Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota.

These grant programs are for farmers, ranchers, scientists, educators, institutions, organizations, and others exploring sustainable agriculture in 12 states.

For now, the agency is focused on double-crop soybeans and double-crop sorghum, though they are examining the possibility of additional other crops at some point in the future.

Researchers found that a 1% increase in no-tillage adoption within a county can increase agricultural land value by $7.86 per acre across 12 Midwestern states covered by the OpTIS database: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Using data specific to Iowa they concluded 1% adoption of no-till at the county level increases farmland values $14.75 (and possibly more) per acre inside Iowa.