The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with farmers to help rebuild Monarch butterfly habitats, specifically targeting conservation efforts at migration routes.

Monarch populations have declined about 90 percent in the past two decades, with the World Wildlife Fund’s 2013 report from Mexico showing that the number of monarch butterflies wintering there was at its lowest in 20 years. The number is measured by the amount of forest the butterflies occupy, and in 2013 the number of butterfly acres decreased from approximately seven to three.

The NRCS program is available for growers in 10 states in the Southern Plains and Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

According to the USDA blog, with assistance from NRCS, farmers and conservation partners can plant milkweed and nectar-rich plants which provide food for the Monarchs, along field borders, in buffers along waterways or around wetlands, in pastures and other suitable locations.

NRCS worked with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and butterfly experts across the United States to choose the best milkweed species and nectar producing plants to recommend for landowners.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) is actively engaged in efforts to restore monarch butterfly populations. Soybean industry leaders have met with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and other industry partners to discuss efforts to restore monarch butterfly populations and improve habitats that will help all pollinators. ASA will continue to play a lead role in coalition efforts and outreach to Federal agencies on all pollinator issues.

Click here to learn more about the NRCS Monarch Butterfly Habitat Development Project.