Living Acres #MonarchChallenge
Preserving biodiversity, protecting and creating monarch habitat in non-crop areas next to high production agriculture.
Monarch populations have dramatically declined in the U.S. in recent years due to various reasons including overwintering habitat loss, extreme weather events, nectar sources for adult butterflies, and milkweed availability.
Milkweed is critical as it is the only plant on which monarchs will lay their eggs, and it provides food for their larvae.
To support milkweed and preserve biodiversity, BASF introduced the Living Acres #MonarchChallenge initiative in North America in 2015. It is our first major North American initiative in support of our sustainability platform. The #MonarchChallenge draws on our expertise in research and development, providing farmers with practical best practices for establishing and maintaining milkweed plants on land not reserved for crops, in play areas of golf courses and other agricultural areas.
Through the #MonarchChallenge, we are doing our part to help restore the monarch butterfly population.
Since the program’s introduction, we have provided more than 35,000 milkweed stems to farmers, golf courses and other agriculture advocates in the United States and Canada. More than 5,000 farmers have learned about the #MonarchChallenge and their role in protecting biodiversity. It has inspired increasing numbers of farmers to plant milkweed patches that preserve the monarch butterfly species — all while protecting crop productivity.
The #MonarchChallenge is just the first step on our sustainability journey. We will use the lessons learned from this initiative to expand our Living Acres biodiversity efforts in the future.
