The Wild Farm Alliance has created a chart of a progression of activities that increasingly support biodiversity and the benefits it provides to the farm. Each farm has a unique set of circumstances and will begin at different places in the continuum, depending on its need and capacity for supporting nature.

Whether the need is for building better soil health and clean water, ensuring more complete pollination and effective pest control, or enhancing habitat for wildlife, the farm can start with small steps or take big strides to integrate biodiversity. Agriculture comprises almost 60 percent of the continental U.S., and 40 percent of the Earth’s landscape. As our population grows and our planet heats up, it is imperative that we take advantage of biodiversity and the benefits it provides. When doing so, the farm will be more resilient to changes in climate that will cause increasing drought and flooding, declining ecological balance of natural predators, and more pests and sterile landscapes. And just as important, the farm is addressing the worldwide biodiversity crisis.