/Beneficial Insect Habitat

‐ Column + Column Qualitative Cost of Potential Income Your Judgment: Benefits of the Implementation and Gain and Value Per Acre of Practice Potential Income Reduced/Avoided This Practice on Loss Costs Your Land are Establishment cost Full funding for Potential income critical to spread over 15 years: habitat establishment gain and costs productivity of $27/acre of through public or avoided: many , habitat/year (See private programs + vegetable, , and Habitat Costs text (5,6) nut crops box) $150/acre/year Potential income Beneficial insects Management and contract payment for loss and costs to prey on other maintenance cost for acres in pollinator pay: harmful insects, habitat: $50/acre/year habitat (5) - reducing crop (See Habitat Costs damage text box) Benefit to society: $29/acre/year from Your judgment on Possible reduced Loss of net income services. value to your farm insecticide from cash crop on the This applies to total of qualitative application to crops pollinator habitat farm acres, not just benefits: acres: $230/acre/year. acres in pollinator + Pollinator/beneficial (See Cash Grain habitat. (See insect habitat Profitability Pollinator & contributes to Calculation text box Beneficial Insect Value to society or species diversity on in Crop Rotation Services text box) environment: the farm; attracts section). Reduce this + birds and other number if planting on $5/acre/year in crop wildlife less-productive acres. protection services from beneficial Add up the total Reduced soil $30/acre/year cost for insects. This applies net value per acre erosion and water the acreage of the to total farm acres, per year: runoff from habitat habitat, for extra time not just acres in strips strategically and hassle in field pollinator habitat. located on 10% of operations (tillage, (See Pollinator & Multiply by a time crop fields. spraying, and Beneficial Insect frame (5 years? 10 harvesting) to Services text box) years?) maneuver around the area. (7) $8.20/acre/year gain in fertilizer value of Total value over soil by saving 95% of time: 4.1 tons/acre/year from soil erosion if

Farm Transitions ‐ Valuing Sustainable Practices ‐ Pollinator & Beneficial Insect Habitat – Sept. 2013 Online: http://landstewardshipproject.org/farmtransitionstoolkit

habitat is on 10% of cropland acres. This amount applies to total farm acres. (See Value of Saving Soil text box in the Crop Rotation section).

Benefit to society: approximately $19/acre/year gain in water quality value of soil by saving 95% of 4.1 tons/acre/year of soil from erosion if habitat is on 10%

of cropland acres. The numbers in this This amount applies table are broad to total farm acres. estimates, and you should adjust them (See Value of Saving for your farm’s Soil text box in the conditions. Crop Rotation section).

Farm Transitions ‐ Valuing Sustainable Practices ‐ Pollinator & Beneficial Insect Habitat – Sept. 2013 Online: http://landstewardshipproject.org/farmtransitionstoolkit