For decades, the health risks of smoking were known, but widespread cultural acceptance of smoking continued. Unsurprisingly, around the same time that insurers began pricing in the risks of smoking, creating disincentives for smokers, public perception shifted substantially. Objective, market-based incentives, like insurance discounts, are powerful tools in shaping culture.
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a grant to Land Core to apply market-based incentive principles to determine the risk-mitigation benefits and related cost savings associated with specific soil health practices. The research explores developing discounts and incentives — similar to those for being a good driver and a non-smoker — for the adoption of agricultural practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage and increased crop rotations.
Harley Cross, Land Core co-founder and director of strategy, authored an Insight that explains the “good soil discount” and how it will go a long way towards ushering in a new understanding of the true value of soil health for all producers.
