Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): supply chain

Unlocking the black box of agricultural supply chains

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 7, 2016

Jennifer Schmitt, Ph.D, lead scientist of the NorthStar initiative at the University of Minnesota.

The corn supply chain is a complex, ever-changing, and often unpredictable system. Measuring the environmental impacts of grain production can be just as complex and daunting – especially with thousands of players involved.

Understanding corn’s environmental footprint is fundamental to generating solutions that help farmers improve efficiencies and reduce fertilizer losses and hold companies accountable for meeting and measuring the success of their sustainability goals.

That’s why EDF partnered with the University of Minnesota’s Northstar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise to develop a feed grain transport model that estimates emissions from grain farming. Northstar is a program within the university’s Institute on the Environment, which has deep expertise in the complex agricultural supply chain and is able to connect the dots between products on the shelves and their environmental impacts. As I’ve blogged before, EDF believes this kind of increased transparency is good for consumers and businesses themselves.

I asked Jennifer Schmitt, Ph.D, lead scientist of the NorthStar initiative, to elaborate on the team’s research and on the importance of data collection and measurement in agriculture.
Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, climate change, corn, ecosystems, farmers, farms, fertilizer, meat, Minnesota, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, transparency | Comments are closed

How an ag retail program is scaling up sustainable practices

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: February 17, 2016

SUSTAIN™ is continuing to gain momentum with food companies and government agencies.

Just today, the world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, said it would begin using the platform to reduce nutrient losses across its Midwest sourcing areas. And last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $720 million in funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCCP) to advance sustainable practices. SUSTAIN is part of two RCPPs in Illinois and Iowa that will encourage more growers to engage in voluntary nutrient management and conservation practices.

SUSTAIN was developed by United Suppliers, Inc., a cooperative of agricultural retailers whose customers span 45 million acres across the U.S. and Canada, in coordination with EDF. The program trains ag retailers in using proven, effective technologies, practices, and products that advance sustainable agriculture. The retail staff then bring this knowledge to the growers they serve.

This unique business model has the potential to bring sustainable farming measures to scale. One ag retail location can for example reach hundreds of growers and thousands of acres.

Here are the details on why these two announcements mean a big leap forward for agricultural sustainability. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, corn, ecosystems, farmers, farming, farms, fertilizer, food, food production, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, USDA | Comments are closed

How a 10-year old Walmart speech fostered sustainable food production

By Elizabeth Sturcken / Bio / Published: November 18, 2015

Ten years ago the former CEO of Walmart, Lee Scott, made a speech that included three aspirational environmental goals. One of these goals was “to sell products that sustain our resources and environment.”

Yesterday Walmart announced that it will surpass its aggressive goal of reducing 20 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its supply chain. In total, Walmart will reduce 28 MMT of GHG from its supply chain by the end of 2015. That’s the equivalent of getting almost six million cars off the road.

To achieve this goal, Walmart tackled a diverse range of projects, including changing food date labeling to reduce waste and working with food companies and EDF to optimize fertilizer use on over 20 million acres of U.S. farmland.

As EDF president Fred Krupp said, “When you can get big companies to do important things, you can change the world.”

That’s why Walmart’s commitments have had a ripple effect with food companies across the country – 15 companies representing 30 percent of the U.S. food and beverage market created fertilizer efficiency plans – and why the retailer is helping make sustainable food production the norm. Walmart and the food companies supplying products to the retailer’s shelves understand that we’re facing environmental challenges that demand market based solutions. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, climate change, farmers, fertilizer, food companies, food production, greenhouse gas, greenhouse gas emissions, Partnerships, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, the sustainability consortium, Walmart | Comments are closed

3 reasons food companies should track emissions from their supply chains

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 17, 2015

Few professions require as close attention to the weather as farming. Extreme temperatures, floods, drought, and storms are the quickest way for a promising crop to turn into a total loss. That’s why it is surprising that a new report from the environmental data organization CDP shows food companies largely ignore their agricultural supply chains when making climate commitments. Less than 25 percent of the companies reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) data are accounting for indirect emissions from fertilizer, manure, or deforestation.

There are various reasons why so few food companies extend climate commitments to their full supply chains – global supply chains are complex and it can be difficult to trace product components back to their origins.

But failure to account for agricultural emissions is problematic. As the CDP report noted, at least 10 percent of global GHG emissions are unaccounted for, meaning food companies are lacking important insight into climate risks in their supply chains.

Here are three reasons why food companies should invest the time and energy required to take this step: Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, CDP, climate change, ecosystems, emissions, farmers, fertilizer, food, food production, GHG mitigation, greenhouse gas, Smithfield Foods, sustainable agriculture, transparency | Comments are closed

Powerful business: the lever for change across the ag supply chain

By Elizabeth Sturcken / Bio / Published: September 3, 2015

A longer version of this post was first published on EDF+Business.

Sometimes when a problem seems too big, too ugly and too complex to handle, you need a lever to help move things along. All of the big environmental problems we currently face fall into this category.

When it comes to tackling our planet’s biggest problems, there is a full spectrum of approaches and many different leverage points. A thriving planet and a thriving economy, farmers included, don’t have to be at odds. EDF is focusing on helping businesses make their supply chains cleaner, more efficient and more profitable.

By collaborating with decision makers at every point in the agricultural supply chain – from retailers and food companies to agribusiness and farmers – we are building demand for and increasing the supply of sustainably produced grains.

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, consumer products, deforestation, ecosystems, farmers, FedEx, fertilizer, food production, greenhouse gas, McDonald's, Partnerships, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, Walmart | Comments are closed

Cutting food waste to support farmers and the famished

By Peyton Johnson / Published: August 11, 2015

Surplus food at the Food Donation Connection. Photo Credit: USDA.

Food waste affects more than just our wallets. Approximately one-third of all food produced in the world gets thrown away every year, leading to 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions. At 2.6 trillion pounds, that’s enough sustenance to feed three billion people, or almost all people living in poverty worldwide today.

That’s why, last week, when I attended a Q&A session for ag interns at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with Secretary Tom Vilsack, I was intrigued when a fellow intern asked a question regarding food sustainability and what the U.S. can do to ensure that there will be enough food to feed the 9 billion people expected to populate the world by 2050.

The Secretary’s answer? Reduce food waste.

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, emissions, farm, farmers, feeding forward, food, food and agriculture organization of the united nations, food bank, food chain, food companies, food waste, greenhouse gas, grocery store, homeless shelter, poverty, produce, producers, secretary tom vilsack, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable agriculture, teens opposing poverty, united states department of agriculture, USDA, waste no food | Read 1 Response

How the private sector can help stem emissions from agriculture

By Rebecca Shaw / Bio / Published: March 12, 2015

Credit: Flickr user Rory MacLeod

Here’s the challenge: we need to feed 9 billion people by 2050, yet if we continue with current farming practices agriculture could be responsible for 70 percent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions by that same year, according to an official at the World Bank.

So what do we do?

We can’t just point the finger at growers and tell them to solve the problem. This is a tall order – and it will require all hands on deck: food companies, suppliers, consumers, and producers. We all need to implement climate-smart agricultural approaches on a global scale to reduce emissions, increase resilience, and protect farmers’ livelihoods.

But climate-smart agriculture absolutely cannot become mainstream without more help from the private sector. We need corporations to invest in research and to make tangible changes to their supply chains. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Climate, climate change, conservation, farmers, fertilizer, food production, food security, GHG mitigation, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, private sector, sustainable agriculture, Walmart | Comments are closed

Reducing risks to corn production requires a supply chain solution

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 14, 2014

Corn is our country’s biggest crop economically and takes up nearly one-third of U.S. cropland. It is a pillar of our food production system – a key ingredient in everything from drinks, sauces and snack foods to dairy products, fuel and meat.

So when news about corn’s risky future pops up, we should all take note, and the entire agricultural supply chain should work toward solutions.

Water & Climate Risks Facing U.S. Corn Production, produced by the nonprofit sustainability advocate Ceres, is the latest analysis to sound the warning bell.

Last year U.S. corn growers harvested a record 14 billion bushels of corn, making them among the most productive farmers in the world (this year’s harvest is expected to be huge as well). But climate change and groundwater depletion are threatening to undermine corn’s success as global demand increases. Inefficient fertilizer use is compounding the problem.

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Ceres, Climate, commodity crops, corn, drought, ecosystems, fertilizer, Field to Market, grains, Smithfield, Walmart | Comments are closed