Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): agriculture

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 Uncategorized / Also tagged agricultural sustainability, biological system, biology, climate change, conservation, cover crop, cover cropping no-till, cover crops, ecosystems, 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, sustainable agriculture, 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 Supply Chain / Also tagged ag retail, agronomists, agronomy, Campbell's Soup, Chesapeake Bay, farmers, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, growers, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, Land O'Lakes, Maryland, Midwest, Partnerships, Pennsylvania, row crops, Smithfield Foods, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainable agriculture, Unilever, water quality | Comments are closed

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 »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged 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

What would it take for a Nebraska corn farmer to grow milkweed for monarch butterflies?

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: August 25, 2016

EDF is working to develop the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange to engage the agricultural community in the fight against extinction.

Virtually every farmer and rancher in America has room for conservation on their land. But deciding whether or not to enroll acres in a conservation program requires just as much business sense as deciding which crops to grow on other acres. It’s a matter of cost and return on investment.

My team and I traveled to Nebraska earlier this month to meet with a few corn and soybean farmers to get a sense of what the costs and benefits might be of dedicating some acres – namely marginal lands with low crop productivity, as well as roadsides and field edges – to growing milkweed habitat for the monarch butterfly. What we found was that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged conservation, corn farming, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, habitat exchange, monarch butterfly, Nebraska, NRCS, Pheasants Forever, USDA, wetlands reserve program, wildlife | Read 3 Responses

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 »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience / Also tagged 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

Cover crops: a new opportunity for ag retailers

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 18, 2016

Corn planted in cover crops. Photo courtesy of SUSTAIN.

For the fourth year in a row, a nationwide farmer survey found a boost in soybean and corn yields following the planting of cover crops. That’s in part why cover crop usage increased 350 percent from 2008 to 2012 among the farmers surveyed.

Cover crops are also great for the environment, since they help keep excess nutrients in the field and out of waterways. Yet only around 2 percent of all U.S. farmland uses cover crops, an alarmingly low figure.

That leaves a ton of room for improvement, which could result in huge environmental gains – and a new business opportunity for ag retailers.

Ag retailers that offer expertise on and sell cover crops to their famer customers can get in on this rapidly growing trend. And in so doing, gain customer loyalty and stand out from competitors. Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged Campbell Soup, conservation, cover crops, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, fertilizer, Kellogg, Land O'Lakes, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, precision agriculture, Smithfield Foods, soil, soil erosion, soil health, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers | Comments are closed

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 Uncategorized / Also tagged climate change, commerce, crops, economics, ecosystems, 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

Breaking through ag’s glass ceiling

By Taryn Silver / Published: August 2, 2016

Woman on a ranch Nearly one-third of U.S. farmers are women, yet their contributions aren’t well known. The Rise of Women Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture, a new book from the University of Iowa press, aims to change this.

Women are diversifying agriculture – not only demographically, but also in terms of production practices. Within the next two decades, they “may own 75 percent of transferred farmland” according to the American Farmland Trust, with enormous implications for American agriculture. From innovative business models to a deep focus on stewardship, women are changing the face – and future – of farming.

As their numbers grow, women farmers are finding and building support networks. Last year, for example, the USDA’s Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced the creation of the Women in Agriculture Mentoring Network. The book argues that more needs to be done to unlock the full promise of these new farmers.

Dr. Carolyn Sachs, a professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is the lead author of the book. I sat down to discuss the agricultural transformations underway, how to create opportunities for new farmers and the implications for land stewardship.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged College of Agricultural Sciences, Community Supported Agriculture, conservation, CSA, farmer networks, farmers, female, food production, food system, land stewardship, Penn State, ranchers, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, Women, women in agriculture, women in farming | Comments are closed

Two ways to reduce toxic algal blooms

By Karen Chapman / Bio / Published: July 28, 2016

Photo: Eric Vance, US EPA

For a month now, South Florida Atlantic beaches have been blanketed by a sickly green, toxic algae sludge that has kept tourists away and caused local businesses to lose millions.

Florida has a bigger headache this summer than most states, but algae blooms are hardly unique.

Last week, more than 100 people were sickened from toxic algae in a Utah lake largely fed by agricultural runoff and treated sewage water. And just two summers ago, an outbreak in Lake Erie forced the City of Toledo to close off its water supply for nearly half a million residents.

Agricultural runoff also means wasted money for farmers, who can spend approximately half of their input costs on fertilizer.

There are ways to reduce the runoff that contributes to water quality problems and kills marine life, year after year. Algae blooms can be minimized and maybe even prevented if we scale up existing efforts to improve fertilizer efficiency and soil health – practices that can also save farmers money and boost their yields.

Two initiatives and private-sector partnerships are making real headway in doing just that. And if these efforts are replicated at scale, they could have a national – and even international – impact. Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged algae, algae bloom, Campbell's Soup, environmental defense fund, farmers, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, Florida, Kellogg's, Lake Erie, Land O'Lakes, nutrient efficiency, nutrient management, NutrientStar, Ohio, pollution, runoff, Smithfield Foods, supply chain, supply chain sustainability, SUSTAIN, sustainable agriculture, sustainable supply chain, toxic algae, Unilever, United Suppliers, Utah, Walmart, water pollution, water quality | Read 6 Responses

Birds, snakes and butterflies: Farming for more than crops and cash

By Scott Sellers / Bio / Published: July 27, 2016

Davis Ranch manager John Brennan pointed out a hundred year-old valley oak. Resting in the highest branches was a large nest about two feet wide, where a pair of hawks were nesting. As we dispersed about the ranch, one of the hawks greeted us by spreading its wings and soaring off into the blue sky.

A pair of Swainson’s hawk nest in a 100-year-old valley oak tree at Davis Ranch in Colusa, California. (Credit: Emily James)

The Golden State is well known for its robust and diverse agricultural output, even during times of drought. In 2014, California’s farms, ranches and nurseries turned out $54 billion worth of everything from oranges to rice, and milk to nuts.

Our farms and ranches are less renowned for the rich wildlife habitat they also provide, in some cases for threatened species like the Swainson’s hawk and giant garter snake, which have long struggled with the disappearance of their historic habitat in open grasslands and tule marshes.

The Swainson’s hawk population in California used to be close to 17,000 mating pairs. Today, that number is closer to 2,000. And the giant garter snake has faced the loss of 95 percent of its historic Central Valley wetland habitat. In both cases, landscape conversion and fragmentation, in addition to land management practices such as rodent control, have steadily worn away the suitable habitat for these species.

Fortunately, many species are adapting to these landscape changes and, with wildlife-friendly practices, are able to thrive on productive California farms and ranches. Farms like Davis Ranch. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged california, central valley, central valley habitat exchange, Davis Ranch, drought, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, giant garter snake, habitat exchange, monarch butterfly, rice farm, sustainable agriculture, Swainson's hawk | Comments are closed