Growing Returns

Remembering an agricultural pioneer

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 28, 2015

Dr. Changsheng Li. Credit: University of New Hampshire

You may not know the name Dr. Changsheng Li, who passed away last week after a courageous battle with cancer, but his legacy will live on for generations.

A professor at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Dr. Changsheng developed and refined a model that has been used in more than 20 countries to calculate methane and nitrous oxide emissions from crop production.

A UNH faculty award from 2009 noted that “it is rare to meet a person who fairly radiates humility and compassion. Changsheng Li of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space is just such an individual.” He will be sorely missed by his friends at Environmental Defense Fund – and across the entire agricultural world.

His work took on new meaning and unprecedented momentum over the past few months with several big developments in the field of agricultural carbon markets – successes that would not have been possible without his pioneering work. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market, Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, carbon markets, Climate, climate change, conservation, DNDC, farmers, GHG mitigation, greenhouse gas, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, University of New Hampshire | Comments are closed

Why almond lovers can breathe easy again

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 20, 2015

It’s been a tough year for the almond. Vilified and beaten down, the nut has come to symbolize the California drought. While the reasons for and solutions to the drought are complicated and nuanced, the almond’s reputation has nonetheless suffered.

Meanwhile, farmers across the board are under increasing pressure – from regulatory requirements and increasing consumer demand for transparency – to modify their fertilizer application practices and thereby reduce nitrogen losses to the air and water.

Fortunately, there’s good reason for the almond to cheer up – a new Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) from the California Department of Food & Agriculture will support the state’s almond growers in their ongoing efforts to make nut production more sustainable, without sacrificing yields. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agriculture, almond board of california, almonds, california, California Air Resources Board, drought, farmers, fertilizer, food production, food security, nut, Partnerships, pistachios, soil health, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, UC Davis, USDA, walnuts, water use, western water | Read 1 Response

How to make meat production more sustainable? Start with corn.

By Rebecca Shaw / Bio / Published: October 16, 2015

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on October 16th.

It’s World Food Day, which promotes awareness of the planet’s most challenging food issues, including eradicating global hunger. All food production depends on environmental health, but food production itself can harm the planet.

So to address hunger and increase food security, we’ll need to address the environmental impacts of food production and how the food choices we make every day affect the planet.

These choices affect the stability of the climate, the availability of clean drinking water and running rivers, and the persistence of native habitats and the wildlife they house.

No matter our political or cultural differences when it comes to food, there’s one trend that is clear: across the globe, we are making the choice to eat more meat. Read More »

Also posted in Supply Chain / Tagged agriculture, China, climate change, corn, ecosystems, farmers, farms, feed grain, fertilizer, food production, food security, GHG mitigation, meat, meat production, North Carolina, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, Smithfield Foods, soil health, sustainability, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Ag’s big data explosion can benefit the environment too

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 5, 2015

Credit: United Soybean Board

Almost daily, I see new stories on how agribusinesses, entrepreneurs, and traditional technology companies are making big investments in precision agriculture tools and digital platforms that collect data from farms.

These data include information such as fertilizer rate, prescription accuracy, yield by square foot, seed type, and soil type. When analyzed at a large scale, the data can determine best practices for farm operations to maximize yield and minimize input costs.

This is an exciting trend, with big and small companies alike getting into the data game, and the tools used to collect this data becoming ubiquitous. And although these technologies weren’t necessarily started with sustainability in mind, they have tremendous potential to benefit the environment. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agriculture, air pollution, big data, Climate Corporation, DuPont, ecosystems, environment, farmers, farming, GHG mitigation, Monsanto, nutrient efficiency, precision agriculture, software, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, technology, Trimble Ag, USDA, water pollution | Read 1 Response

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 »

Also posted in Supply Chain / Tagged agriculture, CDP, climate change, ecosystems, emissions, farmers, fertilizer, food, food production, GHG mitigation, greenhouse gas, Smithfield Foods, supply chain, sustainable agriculture, transparency | Comments are closed

Agricultural carbon markets get yet another boost

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 15, 2015

In the past three months, three new revenue opportunities have emerged for growers. In June, the first ever carbon offset protocol for crop-base agriculture in a cap-and-trade market was approved for U.S. rice growers by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). The “rice protocol” announcement was followed shortly after by approval of a voluntary grasslands protocol, which rewards farmers for avoiding the conversion of grasslands to cropland.

And now, USDA has demonstrated its interest in and support of another market-based approach for growers: increasing fertilizer use efficiency. Thanks to a new grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), EDF and partners will be helping almond and corn farmers reduce fertilizer runoff and nitrous oxide emissions, and earn greenhouse gas credits that can generate revenue.

Here’s what this project will entail: Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market, Supply Chain / Tagged agriculture, almond board of california, almonds, American Carbon Registry, California Air Resources Board, cap and trade, CIG grant, climate action reserve, conservation innovation grant, environmental defense fund, fertilizer, greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen, NRCS, Partnerships, rice growers, sustainable agriculture, UC Davis, United Suppliers, USDA | Comments are closed

Why a “Godzilla” El Niño won’t end California’s drought

By Ilissa Ocko / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 9, 2015

The original version of this post appeared on EDF’s Voices blog.

An El Niño advisory is now official, and scientists suggest there is a greater than a 90-percent chance that it will arrive this winter.

They also believe the developing El Niño could become one of the most powerful on record – rivaling its 1997-98 predecessor, which sent California twice as much rain and the Sierra Nevada double the snowpack it usually gets.

So news of another El Niño may sound like a blessing for California farmers, who help make the state the world’s eighth-largest economy, as they suffer through the worst drought in more than a millennium. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged aquifers, california, Climate, drought, ecosystems, El Niño, farmers, greenhouse gas emissions, Sierra Nevada, water use, western water | Comments are closed

Note to Congress: Pitting fish against farms won’t solve California’s drought

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: July 15, 2015

(Updated July 16, 2015)

A bill to supposedly address California’s devastating drought, authored by Rep. David Valadao, cleared the House of Representatives today.

Unfortunately, this proposal – dubiously named the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 – is yet another attempt to move more water through California’s vast Central Valley Project at a time when we can least afford it and at the expense of many water users.

Among other problems, the bill would permanently undermine science-based protections and regulatory assurances for at-risk species and ecosystems that are essential in providing reliable food, safe drinking water, and jobs to millions of Americans.

The proposed tradeoffs here are nothing new. Similar bills – H.R. 3964 and 5781 in 2014, both opposed by the White House and the State of California – also pitted fish against farms.

It’s time we move away from finger pointing and start finding collaborative solutions to the drought that increase the resiliency of our freshwater ecosystems while supporting agricultural communities in California’s Central Valley. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged agriculture, american food security act, bill, california, California drought, capitol, capitol hill, central valley, central valley project, Climate, climate change, Congress, conservation, drinking water, drought, farm, farmer, fish, food, groundwater, groundwater management, Kenneth Baerenklau, law, legislature, sustainable, sustainable groundwater management act, UC Davis, UC Riverside, University of California, water allocations, water market, water use, western water, White House | Comments are closed

It’s official! Rice farmers now eligible for carbon offset payments

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 25, 2015

Credit: Brian Baer Photography

The door is officially open for crop-based farmers to participate in carbon markets and earn new sources of revenue. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) just approved a new protocol for rice growers, representing the first ever carbon offset protocol for crop-base agriculture in a compliance market.

This means rice growers who implement conservation practices to reduce methane emissions can create and sell a greenhouse gas credit, commonly referred to as a “carbon credit.” Regulated California companies needing to reduce their emissions under California’s cap-and-trade program can now buy rice growers’ carbon credits.

The rice protocol milestone marks a new chapter for sustainable farming and shows the central role agriculture can play in solving the climate challenge.

ARB can now move forward in developing other agricultural offset protocols. The most interesting is a nutrient management protocol that would reward farmers who reduce nitrogen fertilizer losses to the air.

This “fertilizer protocol” has enormous potential for farmers and the environment – more than 400 million acres of cropland could be eligible for participation, and growers could contribute millions of tons of greenhouse gas reductions.

Here’s how the rice protocol works. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market, Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, Air Resources Board, california, cap and trade, carbon offset, Carbon Offsets, climate change, conservation, credit, crops, data, drought, emissions, farming, fertilizer, growers, methane, nitrous oxide, protocol, rice, rice cultivation, sustainable agriculture, water use, western water | Comments are closed

Campbell’s Soup expands its fertilizer optimization programs

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 2, 2015

There’s a new reason to celebrate your favorite sugar cookie. The Campbell Soup Company has committed to fertilizer optimization in its sourcing areas in Ohio and Nebraska. These areas provide wheat for Campbell’s subsidiary, Pepperidge Farm – and the company will enroll an additional 70,000 acres into its fertilizer optimization programs by 2020.

Campbell will work with EDF to create additional fertilizer optimization and soil conservation programs for farmers, and will deploy United Suppliers’ SUSTAIN platform in these sourcing areas to help ensure farmers that changing their practices will not only reduce nitrogen runoff, but also protect yields and farm income. Read More »

Also posted in Supply Chain / Tagged agriculture, Campbell, Campbell Soup, climate change, ecosystems, farmers, farms, GHG mitigation, Nebraska, Ohio, Partnerships, Pepperidge Farm, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, Walmart, wheat | Comments are closed