Growing Returns

How Smithfield’s landmark climate goal benefits farmers and the planet

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 5, 2016

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

Smithfields foods will reduce emissions in its supply chains

Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork company, is known as a leader in animal agriculture. Now Smithfield is showing its sustainability leadership by becoming the first major livestock company to make an absolute, supply chain commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change.

The company will reduce emissions in its U.S. supply chain, from feed grain to packaged bacon, 25 percent by 2025. To meet the goal, Smithfield will improve fertilizer use on feed grain, install advanced manure management technologies, and increase energy efficiency in transportation.

When a company as big as Smithfield makes a new sustainability commitment, it’s natural for farmers and neighboring communities to wonder how it will affect them. The good news is that all the actions Smithfield plans will generate benefits both for farmers and our environment.

Here are three: Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged biogas, cover crops, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer optimization, greenhouse gas emissions, healthy soils, hogs, Hurricane Matthew, lagoon covers, livestock, manure, methane, nitrogen, North Carolina, nutrient management, protein company, resilience, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, water quality | Read 2 Responses

How agriculture can help drive a low-carbon economy

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 1, 2016

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently released an intriguing report on how the United States can transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050 while continuing economic growth. The report gives a starring role in this job to agricultural lands.

“Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization” outlines a 3-pronged strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent while accelerating job-creating innovation. Calling each strategy “critical,” CEQ first lists the familiar call to transition to renewable and low carbon forms of energy.

The second key strategy, however, is less often discussed: the potential of cropland and grassland soils, as well as forests, to store and sequester hundreds of millions of tons of CO₂ annually. The report – informed by decades of scientific research – describes the opportunities to explore in this area. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged American Carbon Registry, carbon sequestration, climate action reserve, conservation, cover crops, economic growth, farming, fertilizer optimization, grasslands, grasslands protocol, greenhouse gas emissions, livestock, market-based, nitrous oxide, no-till, ranching | Comments are closed

Three areas ripe for public investment in U.S. agriculture

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 7, 2016

Agriculture doesn’t often attract big investments like those that flow to technology.

But that may have just changed.

The Chinese government recently announced plans to invest $450 billion over the next four years – yep, billions – to help modernize agriculture and scale up practices that increase food security while hopefully minimizing impacts to the environment.

This eye-popping investment should be seen as a wake up call to the United States. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agricultural research, China, climate change, conservation, cover crops, data, grasslands, greenhouse gas emissions, investment, no-till, research funding, resilience, soil sensor, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA | Comments are closed

What Michael Pollan gets wrong about Big Ag

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 12, 2016

Journalist Michael Pollan deserves credit for elevating the national conversation about food. Over the course of 25 years, his articles and books have thoughtfully contemplated the troubling side effects of the American diet and the way our food is produced.

But his latest piece in the New York Times Magazine reads like a script for a black and white Western, with food companies, agribusiness and commodity producers cast in the role of Bad Guy and local organic farmers and vegans cast as the Men in White Hats.

In Pollan’s script, the bad guys are responsible for everything from America’s weight problem and rising health care costs to widespread environmental degradation and monocultures that threaten national security. If only the law would get on the good guys’ side, he muses.

Food production is actually changing

All industries have issues that continually need to be addressed, and the food industry is no exception.

Agriculture consumes a lot of land and water and emits greenhouse gas emissions that must be curbed. And, yes, our diets have contributed to America’s obesity epidemic.

Except, our food system is changing, more than Pollan acknowledges.

The uptick in consumer demand for local, organic products is promising. So, too, are the contributions that Pollan’s so-called villains – the companies, agribusinesses and commodity farmers who produce what’s on our plate – are making to the environment. They deserve recognition. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Food / Tagged ag retailer, ag retailers, agribusiness, Campbell Soup, climate change, commodity crops, commodity farmer, corn, cover crops, David Festa, environmental defense fund, factory farm, farm, farmer, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer pollution, food industry, General Mills, greenhouse gas emissions, industrial-scale, Kellogg, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, large-scale, Michael Pollan, monoculture, no-till, nutrient efficiency, resilience, resiliency, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, soil health, soy, SUSTAIN, tilling, Walmart, wheat | Read 3 Responses

Why Kansas farmer Justin Knopf strives to emulate the native prairie

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 15, 2016

I first met Justin Knopf at a meeting in DC about five years ago. At 6’3”, he definitely stood out, but not just physically. He openly conveyed how important his family and his land are – the reason he cares so much about making sure his Kansas farming operation can live on is for his children. It’s rare to meet someone so articulate, sincere and committed to sustainability.

Over the years, I have become more and more impressed by Justin, who started farming at age 14 when his father gave him the means to rent land and buy seed and fertilizer.

Fast forward to today, and Justin is one of the country’s champions of no-till farming – a practice that has boosted his yields and made his crops more resilient to the effects of extreme weather. His dedication and success caught the attention of Miriam Horn, author of the new book Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland.

Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman tells the stories of five individuals in the enormous Mississippi River watershed (Justin included) who are embracing sustainability and defying stereotypes. I asked Justin about the book, his beliefs on sustainability and what’s next for no till. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agricultural sustainability, agriculture, biological system, biology, climate change, conservation, cover crop, cover cropping no-till, cover crops, environment, environmental defense fund, farmer, farmers, farming, heartland, Justin Knopf, kansas, land, land stewardship, Midwest, Mississippi River, natural resources, no-till, Rancher Farmer Fisherman, resilience, resiliency, soil conservation, soil erosion, soil health, soil management, stewardship, sustainability, water, watershed | Comments are closed

How ag retailers are helping improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 7, 2016

Farmers in front of a tractor Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN® platform – a powerful tool that can make a real impact in improving regional water quality — is coming to the Chesapeake Bay.

The Mill®, a large agricultural retail company, today became the first business in the area to utilize SUSTAIN in Maryland and Pennsylvania. SUSTAIN provides ag retailers with tools and training in best practices for fertilizer efficiency and soil health – such as cover crops and precision ag technologies – while maintaining the potential for high yields. Retail staff then bring this knowledge to the farmers they serve, meaning that one retail location can reach hundreds of farmers.

That’s why the platform, co-developed by Environmental Defense Fund, is taking off. Thus far, 27 ag retailers across the country have been trained, and food companies such as Smithfield Foods, Campbell’s Soup, Unilever, and Kellogg are connecting to the SUSTAIN platform as a way to meet their corporate sustainability goals.

I asked Ben Hushon, owner of The Mill, to tell me what this means for the Bay, for his company, and for farmers. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Coasts and Watersheds / Tagged ag retail, agriculture, agronomists, agronomy, Campbell's Soup, Chesapeake Bay, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, growers, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, Land O'Lakes, Maryland, Midwest, Pennsylvania, row crops, Smithfield Foods, soil health, SUSTAIN, Unilever, water quality | Comments are closed

These heartland conservation heroes defy stereotypes

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 6, 2016

Western ranchers, Midwestern commodity crop growers, fishermen who make their livelihoods along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. In some circles, these folks wouldn’t necessarily be considered models of sustainability. And yet, many are leading a quiet revolution in the way our food is raised, harvested and produced.

In her new book Rancher Farmer Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the Heartland, my colleague Miriam Horn journeys down the Mighty Mississippi River System to meet five representatives of this unsung stewardship movement: Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agricultural sustainability, American value, bipartisan, cattlemen, Climate, climate change, conservation, conservationist, conservative, cover crops, democracy, environmental defense fund, farmer, farming, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer management, fisherman, Gulf of Mexico, hunters, hunting, kansas, land manager, Louisiana, Mississippi River, Montana, no-till, nutrient efficiency, nutrient management, progressive, rancher, ranching, red state, stewardship | Read 1 Response

How coastal restoration in Louisiana is helping rural communities in the Midwest

By Christina Rouse / Published: August 10, 2016

Hunkering down in a duck blind with my dad on the Cuivre River, which feeds into the Mississippi.

Clang. A knot of rusted chains pulls shut the driveway gate, bringing it closed with a final smack against a worn fence post. Just like that, my Sunday afternoon visit to our family farm in Clarksville, Missouri ends. After a quick trip home to Saint Louis, it’s time to catch a flight to Washington, D.C. for my internship.

But not before my dad asks, “Do you want to see downtown?”. I laugh, but agree to check it out. “Downtown” is a relative term in Clarksville – a quiet river community with fewer than 500 residents.

The streets slope down to the shoreline, where historic buildings meet the Mighty Mississippi. A few barges float nearby, unperturbed by the currents that pull toward the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a calm day on the river. I spot a sign emblazoned with a familiar red and white Army Corps castle. Just ahead, a concrete arm extends across the channel. Read More »

Posted in Coasts and Watersheds / Tagged agriculture, climate change, commerce, crops, economics, environmental defense fund, farmers, farmland, flooding, floodplain, floods, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mississippi River, missouri, resilience, resiliency, shipping, supply chain, sustainability, water quality, watershed, weather, wetlands | Comments are closed

Why sustainable food can’t be a luxury

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 5, 2016

Photo credit: Don Graham

The results are in, so food companies take notice: American consumers are educating themselves on our food system, and they’re increasingly asking for sustainably produced foods. That’s a key takeaway from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s new report on consumer attitudes toward food.

It’s an exciting trend, since what we buy sends a signal across the supply chain for farmers to grow ingredients in ways that protect our natural resources, and for food companies to source sustainably grown products. Sustainably produced food also supports food security, which is essential to our continued prosperity.

Yet sustainably grown products are almost always more expensive to produce than their unsustainable counterparts, which is why many farmers require a premium for changing their production practices to reduce environmental impacts.

To improve air and water quality and protect farmers’ livelihoods, sustainability can’t just be a luxury. Sustainable food production has to become business as usual.

Here’s why we’re well on our way to meeting that goal.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged business case, Consumer Attitudes, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer management, fertilizer optimization, food, food production, food security, food system, IFIC, International Food Information Council Foundation, Land O' Lakes, Smithfield Foods, sourcing, supply chain, sustainability, sustainable food, Trend, Unilever | Comments are closed

Why two California farms give me hope for the monarch butterfly

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: July 18, 2016

A monarch caterpillar eats showy milkweed at Davis Ranch in Colusa, California.

The western population of monarch butterflies is in steep decline, according to a recent study released by the Xerces Society, having fallen 74 percent in the past two decades, from roughly 1.2 million in 1997 to fewer than 300,000 butterflies in 2015.

Studies have documented the drop in eastern populations over the past several years, but this is the first time we’ve been able to understand the risks to the western population, which resides west of the Rocky Mountains.

The population is struggling because of development around the forested groves where they spend winters along the California coast and in Mexico, and because of pesticide applications that kill vital milkweed habitat. These threats and the population decline are significant, having the potential to influence a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision in coming years if the situation fails to turn around soon.

I’ve feared for many years that the monarch might reach the point that it will require protections under the Endangered Species Act – a last resort that signals a dire state for the iconic and beloved species. But a recent trip to California gave me great hope that it’s not too late to change the monarch’s trajectory. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged california, California monarchs, central valley habitat exchange, conservation, david wolfe, Davis Ranches, habitat exchange, habitat quality, Hedgerow Farms, Karen Oberhauser, milkweed, milkweed conservation, monarch butterfly, monarch butterfly population, Monarch Lab, population decline, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Minnesota | Read 10 Responses