Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): Corn Belt

How a farmer ‘think tank’ is shaping agricultural sustainability, far beyond the field

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 10, 2018

One of the best parts of my job at Environmental Defense Fund is working with our farmer advisory network – a group of 19 producers who farm across the Corn Belt and Great Plains on operations ranging in size from about 5,000 acres to 30,000 acres.

EDF’s advisers farm across the heartland, from Minnesota to Texas, and from Idaho to Ohio.

They’re brilliant business people who know how conservation can benefit their bottom line. With their guidance, we’re making real progress aligning economic and environmental outcomes for agriculture.

Here’s how this unique partnership came about, and three of the most important areas of progress we’ve made through our collaboration over the past eight years. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Ag Retailers Association, agriculture, American Society of Agronomy, conservation, ecosystems, farm bill, farmers, Field to Market, Great Plains, National Corn Growers Association, nutrient management, NutrientStar, sustainability, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

This new geospatial tool makes NutrientStar accessible to farmers across the Corn Belt

By Karen Chapman / Bio / Published: May 25, 2017

Areas with the same color indicate zones where the soil and climate are comparable – and consequently, where a fertilizer management product or tool could perform similarly.

NutrientStar, which assesses fertilizer management products and tools using field trials and in-depth scientific reviews, was a game changer for farmers. Prior to the launch of the program last year, there was no expert review program – no Carfax, no Consumer Reports – to help farmers determine what tools would work as advertised.

The only downside of the program was its limited utility. Farmers had no easy way to extrapolate results from the relatively few number of field trials performed thus far to their own locations.

Now, a new geospatial feature called the Technology Extrapolation Domain (TED) framework will make NutrientStar accessible to tens of thousands of additional farmers across the Corn Belt.

I like to think of it as NutrientStar on steroids. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged crop advisors, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer management, field trials, Global Yield Gap Atlas, NutrientStar, soil, sustainable agriculture, Technology Extrapolation Domain, University of Nebraska | Comments are closed

Monarchs still need milkweed, and farmers are growing it

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: May 3, 2016

Rain builds over a field near Lubbock, Texas. Photo credit: Flickr user Craig O’Neal

I am watching the rain pour down outside my window as I write this blog. El Niño is once again giving central and north Texas a good drenching, which has brought with it some severe and deadly flood conditions. But the rains are a welcome sight to Texas farmers and ranchers who have become all too used to drought and wildfire conditions. And they aren’t the only ones benefitting from the heavy rains.

All this wet weather has resulted in a spectacular display of spring wildflowers, including vast expanses of milkweed and nectar plants that the iconic North American monarch butterflies need to survive and thrive.

Recent headlines suggest that milkweed loss is just one of several threats to monarch populations, with drought, habitat fragmentation and reduced availability of nectar plants also influencing the species’ decline. In reality, all of these threats are interconnected in a recipe that could spell disaster for the monarch. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged conservation credits, ecosystems, El Niño, environmental defense fund, Environmental Incentives, farmers, golden cheeked warbler, habitat conservation, habitat exchange, habitat fragmentation, milkweed, monarch butterflies, Monarch Lab, Partnerships, ranchers, revenue, Shield Ranch, Texas, University of Minnesota | Read 2 Responses