Growing Returns

Hurricane Matthew teaches us four important lessons about resilience

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 25, 2016

Read an update on methane, manure and community impacts in North Carolina

Flooded farm field. Photo: Todd Boyd, Pinetown, North Carolina

Photo credit: Todd Boyd, Pinetown, North Carolina, via DTN Progressive Farmer

Floodwaters powered by Hurricane Matthew’s heavy rains are finally receding in eastern North Carolina. Now farmers, communities, and state officials are beginning to take stock of their losses and think about the future.

Here are four lessons we should learn from the devastating storm.

1. Plan for the new normal

In the past 17 years, North Carolina has been hit by two storms causing 500-year floods. Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and Hurricane Matthew this past month. Both hurricanes caused extensive damage and loss of life. But Floyd in particular was especially devastating to animal agriculture and the environment. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged chickens, ecosystems, extreme weather, fertilizer efficiency, flooding, floodplain, greenhouse gas emissions, hogs, hurricane, Hurricane Floyd, Hurricane Matthew, manure, no-till, North Carolina, nutrient management, public health, resilience, resiliency, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

New project guarantees payment for growers who implement conservation measures

By Rebecca Haynes / Twitter profile / Published: October 3, 2016

Arkansas rice farmers participating in agricultural carbon markets. Credit: Adam Jahiel

Early adopters of innovative land-based conservation measures are rarely given an adequate reward for participating in agricultural carbon markets. But that’s all about to change, thanks to a nearly $1.2 million USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) that will leverage private capital investment into agricultural carbon offset practices and ensure that producers are paid for their efforts.

These efforts will guarantee the sale of at least 100,000 tons of credits over the next three years. Here’s how it will work. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agricultural carbon markets, agricultural offset projects, arkansas, BlueSource, california, cap and trade, carbon credits, carbon markets, Carbon Offsets, CIG grant, ClimeCo, conservation, conservation innovation grant, Encourage Capital, grasslands protocol, investment, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Partnerships, private capital, purchase agreement, USDA, USDA NRCS, Working Lands Investment Fund | Comments are closed

A coalition of uncommon bedfellows is bringing sustainable agriculture to scale

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 31, 2016

Farmers in field Today represents a huge advancement for sustainable agriculture, and a new era of food company collaboration. At the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, we are officially launching the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative (MRCC): a diverse coalition working to expand on-the-ground solutions to protect air and water quality, enhance soil health, and maintain high yields throughout the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

Founding members of the MRCC include Cargill, Environmental Defense Fund, General Mills, Kellogg Company, Monsanto, PepsiCo, The Nature Conservancy, Walmart, and World Wildlife Fund. The coalition will work directly with growers to help foster continuous improvement and implement conservation activities across three pilot states responsible for 44 percent of corn, soy, and wheat production in the United States: Illinois, Nebraska, and Iowa. Read More »

Also posted in Supply Chain / Tagged Ag Retailers Association, Agricultural Retailers Association, ARA, Campbell's, Cargill, cattle, corn, cotton, crop yields, Farm Progress, farmers, fertilizer, Field to Market, General Mills, Illinois, iowa, Kellogg, Mississippi, National Corn Growers Association, Nebraska, Ogallala, Partnerships, Pepsi, RCPP, soil health, Soil Health Partnership, soy, sustainable agriculture, Upper Mississippi River Basin, Walmart, wheat, WWF | Read 2 Responses

Got grasslands? How to get paid for keeping them intact.

By Rebecca Haynes / Twitter profile / Published: August 30, 2016

Heartland Ranch in Colorado. Credit: Nicole Rosmarino

One year ago this month the Climate Action Reserve, the premier carbon offset registry for the North American carbon market, approved the voluntary grasslands protocol: a landmark opportunity for ranchers to get paid for keeping their land as grazing lands, versus converting it to crops.

And now, the protocol is underway. Today, the Reserve officially listed the first two grassland conservation carbon projects– the first step in the process towards generating carbon credits for landowners.

The Southern Plains Land Trust, directed by Nicole Rosmarino, enrolled more than 15,000 acres in Southeastern Colorado in the first two projects. She plans to enroll 7,600 more acres in an additional project in 2017.

Even though ranchers lose the opportunity to convert land for crop production, the protocol provides landowners with a guaranteed revenue source in addition to what they earn ranching on the land. Nicole will work with a project developer to monitor and report on the status of the Southern Plains Land Trust’s grasslands. We expect they’ll start earning credits in early 2017 that can later be sold on the North American carbon market.

Here’s why you can get paid for protecting grasslands, too. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market, Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, carbon market, climate action reserve, climate change, colorado, conservation, croplands, dust bowl, farming, farms, fertilizer, grasslands, grasslands protocol, grazing, grazing lands, Great Plains, ranchers, Southern Plains Land Trust, sustainable agriculture, USDA, USDA NRCS | Comments are closed

California’s new nitrogen assessment highlights promising solutions for reducing fertilizer losses

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 23, 2016

Sara Kroopf A team of researchers spent seven years dissecting, analyzing and reporting on California’s nitrogen cycle, and the results are eye-opening.

Nearly 2 million tons of nitrogen are imported into the state each year. Almost a quarter of it is lost through leaching into groundwater – with runoff from cropland accounting for nearly 90 percent of this leaching. Excess nitrates in drinking water can cause health problems when consumed by at risk populations. Four percent of the state’s nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

But the California Nitrogen Assessment (CNA), released by UC Davis’ Agriculture Sustainability Institute, also provides a never before seen level of detail on nitrogen movement in the state. There’s no silver bullet for reducing environmental impacts while keeping growers profitable. Yet information is power and the more we know, the more we can tailor and prioritize solutions.

The UC Davis team investigated various political, social and economic ideas for reestablishing our state’s nitrogen balance. Two of the most promising solutions for California agriculture to address what the CNA calls “critical control points” include enhancing fertilizer efficiency and expanding carbon markets for agriculture. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agriculture, Almond Board, almonds, california, California Air Resources Board, Carbon Offsets, climate change, crop advisors, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farms, fertilizer, GHG mitigation, growers, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, SARE, sustainable agriculture, UC Davis | Comments are closed

How animal agriculture can help meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 20, 2016

corn field The Paris Climate Agreement included a special emphasis on food security and the threats it faces from extreme weather events. Despite only brief mentions of agriculture in the preamble to the agreement itself, a recent study from the University of Vermont reveals that global emissions reduction targets absolutely cannot be met without significant contributions from the agricultural sector.

According to this new research in Global Change Biology, agriculture needs to reduce emissions by one gigaton per year in 2030, yet current mitigation strategies can only meet 40 percent of this target, at most, and may deliver as little as 21 percent of what is needed.

The authors argue that agriculture needs to play its part, and I couldn’t agree more. We are dependent on agriculture not only to keep us fed, but also to lead the way in addressing climate change threats. Agriculture represents approximately 9 percent of total emissions in the U.S., and between 10 to 29 percent of emissions globally, though this figure is projected to increase.

Despite the fact that 119 nations included agricultural mitigation as an in-country strategy for meeting the Paris Agreement reduction targets, no country has yet reported on how to accomplish these pledges.

Ultimately, the responsibility to implement tangible on-farm changes that reduce emissions falls on billions of farmers, but there is an even greater responsibility for animal agriculture companies. Here’s why – and what these companies can do to help tackle the climate challenge. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged agriculture, carbon emissions, climate change agreement, farmers, global carbon emissions, meat consumption, Paris climate change, soil health, sustainability, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Why investments in agricultural carbon markets make good business sense

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 1, 2016

Farmers shaking hands Over the past decade, private investment in conservation has more than doubled, with sustainable forestry and agriculture investments as the main drivers of growth. This unprecedented expansion in “impact investing” or “conservation finance” has occurred as investors seek good returns that can also benefit the environment. According to Credit Suisse, sustainable agriculture is particularly appealing to investors as it offers a wider array of risk mitigation approaches than sectors such as energy and transportation.

Yet despite this boom, there has been very little investment from private capital in emerging ecosystems markets, especially in the agricultural sector.

We’ve blogged before about the benefits growers – and the environment – realize from participating in agricultural carbon markets or habitat exchanges. But here’s why the private sector, food companies and retailers should invest in agricultural carbon markets. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agricultural offset projects, agriculture, American Carbon Registry, cap and trade, carbon neutral, Carbon Offsets, climate action reserve, conservation finance, environmental defense fund, ESG investing, greenhouse gas, impact investing, opportunity for investment, Paris climate agreement, Partnerships, rice protocol, socially responsible investing, SRI investing, sustainable agriculture, working lands | Read 2 Responses

Despite drought, California agriculture is doing well. But there are hidden costs.

By Scott Sellers / Bio / Published: May 23, 2016

Water scarcity has affected California vineyards

Photo credit: Henrik Johansson

According to a new World Bank report, regions around the world could gain or lose up to 6 percent of their GDP by 2050 depending on how they manage for climate-driven water scarcity.

I was curious about how the report’s findings might apply to California, where I live.

Here in the Golden State, water scarcity is a familiar threat. And while the World Bank found that climate-water costs to North American GDP should be minimal, many Californians have suffered acutely from sustained drought.

In some cases, however, it isn’t entirely clear what the impacts of water scarcity have been. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged agriculture, california, central valley, Climate, climate change, climate-water nexus, drought, economy, environmental defense fund, farmers, global warming, groundwater, groundwater management, job creation, resilience, resiliency, sustainable agriculture, sustainable groundwater management act, water management, water market, water scarcity, water use, western water | Read 4 Responses

Want to bring ag sustainability to scale? Collaboration, not confrontation.

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 11, 2016

One year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced 10 “building blocks” for climate-smart agriculture and forestry, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 120 million metric tons by 2025.

The agency’s focus on partnering with farmers and ranchers – as well as with the private sector – was a huge step in the right direction toward widespread implementation of climate-smart agriculture techniques and programs.

Tomorrow, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce another big investment in conservation stewardship and climate-smart agriculture approaches to advance the building blocks agenda. I’ll be joining Secretary Vilsack to talk about EDF’s partnerships within the agricultural supply chain and our collaborative approach to ag sustainability.

Working across public-private sector lines, through a collaborative approach, and with the entire ag supply chain is the only way to bring sustainability to scale while protecting farmers’ livelihoods.

Here’s what key sectors of the ag supply chain are doing – and can do – to improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase agricultural resilience. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market, Supply Chain / Tagged agriculture, Campbell's Soup, Carbon Offsets, climate change, conservation, corn, cover crops, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, fertilizer, Field to Market, food production, food security, General Mills, Kellogg's, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, Smithfield Foods, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainable agriculture, Unilever, United Suppliers, USDA, Walmart | Comments are closed

The science behind agricultural carbon markets

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 5, 2016

Dry seeding rice reduces early season methane emissions.

There’s been a lot of recent attention on the California Air Resources Board’s (ARB) rice protocol, the first ever carbon offset protocol for crop agriculture in a compliance market.

The protocol, approved in June 2015, allows rice farmers who reduce methane emissions to become eligible for carbon credits through California’s cap-and-trade program, though growers from any rice-growing state can participate. The momentum is building. In less than one year, rice growers on more than 22,000 acres have expressed interest in the protocol – representing nearly 1 percent of all rice grown in the U.S.

When the first credits become available for purchase this summer, policymakers and regulated companies can have confidence in the rice protocol’s ability to improve climate stability, and growers can earn extra revenue, thanks to the sound science that measures emissions reductions. Here’s a primer. Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged agricultural offset protocol, agricultural research, arkansas, california, California Air Resources Board, carbon credit, carbon market, carbon offset, conservation, dry seeding, ecosystems, emissions, fertilizer, field studies, fossil fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions, methane, rice, rice cultivation, soil methane, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, water consumption | Comments are closed