Growing Returns

Farmers know: You can’t manage what you don’t measure

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 9, 2014

It is no surprise that information has value in the technology age. A recent article in the New York Times spotlights an Indiana farming family to show how information is shaping 21st century agriculture.

Kip Tom, a seventh-generation farmer, is riding the wave of agricultural consolidation that, since the 1980s, has led to bigger farms, bigger technology, and now, bigger data.

Bigger revenues have come along with this transition. Tom says better data analysis has raised his return on investment over seven percent – from 14 percent to 21.2 percent.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged agriculture, big data, environment, farming, fertilizer, innovation, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, water quality | Comments are closed

Cover crops nourish the soil through winter

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 24, 2014

Bees enjoy the buckwheat cover crop in the author’s kitchen garden.

The harvest season is ending, but for many growers concerned about the health of their soil, it is time to plant cover crops. I am not a farmer, but I wondered: if cover crops work for farmers, would they improve the soil in my North Carolina kitchen garden?

So late this summer I planted a buckwheat cover crop on half of my garden. I’ll be honest. My record as a gardener is spotty. This year we had a bounty of tomatoes and volunteer pumpkins, while nothing else thrived. A cover crop could improve my soil and my harvest next summer.

Cover crops offer big benefits

On farms, cover crops include grasses and grains such as cereal rye, legumes such as crimson clover, and broadleaf plants like radishes. They are not harvested like corn or soybeans. Instead, they are left in the field or incorporated into the soil.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged agriculture, buckwheat, cover crops, ecosystems, nitrogen, nutrient loss, phosphorus, Smithfield Foods, soil health, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Smithfield Foods, world’s largest pork producer, works with EDF to cut emissions

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 22, 2014

Corn is a common hog feed

First, the facts: We will have 9 billion people on the planet by 2050. That’s 2 billion more than we have today – stretching Earth’s land and water resources to meet nutritional needs in a dramatically changing climate.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency calculates that agriculture is the fifth-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 8 percent of total GHGs. Fertilizer use and soil management are responsible for half of those emissions.

Next, the challenge: Many farmers encounter difficulties in determining the precise amount of nitrogen fertilizer their crops need. It gets tricky. Using too little fertilizer can limit crop production. Too much fertilizer pollutes water and emits a potent greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

The stark reality is that crop production must increase approximately 70 percent by 2050 to feed our growing human population. We cannot choose between agricultural productivity and sustainability — we must have both. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, ecosystems, fertilizer, sustainable agriculture / Tagged feed grain, nitrogen, pork, Smithfield Foods, Walmart | Comments are closed