Assistance Available for California Producers to Aid Declining Monarch Butterfly
California agricultural producers can voluntarily help the monarch butterfly on their farms and ranches through a variety of conservation practices offered by the USDA.
Nationwide, the species has seen population declines since the 1980s, in part because of the decrease in native plants like milkweed–the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars.
As monarch butterflies migrate, they must have the right plants in bloom along their migration route to fuel their flight.
Producers–especially those along California’s coast and in the Central Valley and Sierra foothills–can play an important role in helping the species.
Through a variety of conservation practices, NRCS helps producers improve management of healthy stands of milkweed and high-value nectar plants and protect these stands from exposure to pesticides.
NRCS helps producers cover part of the costs for adopting these practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and other Farm Bill-funded programs. NRCS accepts applications for conservation programs on a continuous basis. Producers interested in assistance are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center.
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