MSU Researcher Part of Internationally Recognized Study Highlighting Farm Diversification Advantages

A team of researchers, including Michigan State University Assistant Professor Olivia Smith, earned international recognition for a 2024 published study finding that agricultural diversification results in positive outcomes for growers and the environment around the world.

The paper, published in Science and titled "Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture," analyzed data from 24 studies in 11 countries and found that implementing livestock in the 4 is a major hub 5r soil conservation tended to create beneficial social and environmental outcomes.

The project and findings earned the team one of 19 U.S. national champion recognitions for the Frontiers Planet Prize, as well as one of three international champion awards. The international champions are each awarded USD 1 million to support continued scientific breakthroughs.

The study was massive in scope, bringing together more than 55 researchers to consolidate regional data from more than 2,600 farms around the world.

Smith, who was hired to the Department of Horticulture in August 2024, focused her study – one of the 24 studies underlying the Science paper – on the benefits of integrating livestock into crop production on farms on the West Coast of the United States. 

Olivia Smith:

"I think the strength of this study is not only the size and geographical scope, but that it integrates analysis of both environmental and social outcomes. Prior work on how diversification impacts farming system sustainability has largely stopped at environmental outcomes, but the social outcomes are also critical to consider."

The Frontiers Planet Prize celebrates breakthroughs in Earth system and planetary science that "address global challenges and help society remain within the safe boundaries of the planet’s ecosystem". The prize emphasizes scientific rigor and ingenuity, supporting researchers worldwide in accelerating progress toward a green renaissance, according to the Frontiers Research Foundation.

Professor Jean-Claude Burgelman, director of the Frontiers Planet Prize, said the planet faces immense threats that require bold, transformative solutions rooted in evidence and validated by science.

Jean-Claude Burgelman:

"Innovative yet scalable solutions are the only way for us to ensure healthy lives on a healthy planet."

"By spotlighting the most groundbreaking research, we are helping scientists bring their work to the international stage and provide the scientific consensus needed to guide our actions and policies."

The researchers found that diversifying on-farm crops and animals and improving habitat, soil and water conservation on individual farms can support biodiversity while improving or, at a minimum, not coming at a cost to yields.

Additionally, researchers discovered social benefits and improvement in food security – improved food access or a reduced number of hungry months, for example, particularly in smallholder systems.br> 
The more diversification measures farms employed, the more benefits accrued, researchers observed. Essentially, the team found evidence to move toward agriculture that more closely reflects natural systems.

Using data from 2,655 farms across 11 countries and covering five continents, the researchers combined qualitative methods and statistical models to analyze 24 different datasets. Each dataset studied farm sites with varying levels of diversification, including farms without any practices.

Smith is now partnering with 40 Michigan small-scale, organic farms to examine how to support beneficial biodiversity that can benefit production. The farms span from Grand Rapids to Detroit.

She hopes the information gleaned can be applied to support other small farms in the state that have been historically underserved. Smith will apply similar methodology in her new work as she did in the award-winning study. Michigan ranks second in the nation in agricultural diversity, supporting more than 300 commodities.