Farmers, have you signed up for the Living Acres #MonarchChallenge milkweed giveaway?

BASF Agricultural Solutions North America biodiversity initiative, Living Acres, is hosting its 5th annual #MonarchChallenge and farmers from across the nation are eligible to participate. The first 1,000 qualified farmers who sign up will receive a starter kit containing 18 milkweed seedlings – either common milkweed or swamp milkweed - to grow a butterfly habitat of their own or expand an existing habitat.

Milkweed is the only species of plant that monarch butterfly larvae feed on, making it a critical part of the monarch life cycle. In addition to providing seedlings, the Monarch Challenge also shares best practices on milkweed development with farmers to help support the monarch butterfly.

The #MonarchChallenge encourages growers to plant milkweed in non-crop areas of their farmland across the United States and along the migratory path of the monarch. The initiative not only benefits monarch butterflies, but other pollinators who thrive from adding pollinator habitats to non-productive crop land.

Farmers can sign up for the Monarch Challenge by visiting www.monarchchallenge.com/sign-up. The deadline is May 2, 2021. Milkweed flats will ship on or around the week of May 24, 2021.

In 2019, 20,000 milkweed seedlings were shipped to farmers and golf courses across the Midwest.

The Monarch Challenge first spread its wings in 2016 as part of the BASF Living Acres biodiversity program. Since taking flight, more than 6,500 participants have signed up for the Monarch Challenge, and 65,500 milkweed plants have been established on farmlands and golf courses from Rhode Island to Idaho.

Source: BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.