Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): cover crops

Monetizing cover crops improves profitability for Iowa farmers, study shows

By Guest Author / Published: April 16, 2020

This blog is authored by Bethany Baratta, senior writer at Iowa Soybean Association. It originally posted on the Iowa Soybean Association Newsroom.

While many farmers add cover crops with the goal to improve soil health, some participants in an Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) study are turning cover crops into new business opportunities. Capturing profit opportunities could result in expanded cover crop use in the state, the study showed.

Twenty Iowa farmers were chosen for the study during the 2018 crop year to take a closer look at the relationship between conservation adoption and farm production and profitability. Study participants were chosen based on their use of conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage. Combined, participants raised 27,535 acres of corn and soybeans, and were geographically dispersed throughout the state. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged corn, Iowa Soybean Association, rye, soil health, soy bean, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

A new guide for farmers to boost profits through conservation

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 15, 2019

As the struggling U.S. farm economy continues to make the news, agricultural organizations, government agencies and conservation groups are rightly focusing their attention on the affordability of conservation adoption.

A 2018 report from EDF and agricultural accounting firm K·Coe Isom, Farm Finance and Conservation, found that farmers who adopt conservation practices such as no-till, nutrient optimization, cover crops and diverse rotations improved their profitability and were more resilient.

Despite these benefits, the costs of transitioning to conservation management practices can be a barrier to adoption. In addition, any change carries some risk, and farmers are likely to be reluctant to take on additional risk in the current economic climate.

For these reasons, it is more important than ever to provide farmers with practical guidance on how to minimize the costs and risks of conservation adoption. Fortunately, a new technical bulletin from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture does just that.

Cover Crop Economics: Opportunities to Improve Your Bottom Line in Row Crops [PDF] describes seven different management scenarios in which farmers can speed their transition to cover crops and achieve profitability more quickly — in some cases within the first year of adoption. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged conservation, farm finance, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Farmers open their books to show financial impact of conservation

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 17, 2018

Farm accountants have a lot more to offer than advice on how to maximize tax returns. In fact, they play a pivotal role in scaling conservation.

Environmental Defense Fund and K·Coe Isom AgKnowledge, a managerial accounting service for farmers and ranchers, teamed up with three Midwestern grain farmers to study how the adoption of conservation practices affects farm budgets.

These farmers, based in Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio, have all adopted some combination of no-till, crop rotations, cover crops and nutrient management. They were generous enough to open up their books so that AgKnowledge could analyze the financial impact of these conservation activities.

The full report will be out later this year, but initial results show how conservation can benefit farmers’ bottom lines. Here are three lessons we learned from this analysis. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged conservation finance, economics, farm finance, iowa, K·Coe Isom, kansas, land value, Ohio, Partnerships, profitability, soil health, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

3 ways Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods could affect agriculture and the environment

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 22, 2017

Photo credit: USDA

The vast majority of the media stories surrounding Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods have focused on how the deal could affect the cost of food, home delivery services, competition in the retail space and our overall shopping experiences.

While it’s still too early to predict what exactly Amazon will do with hundreds of new brick and mortar grocery stores, here are three possible implications for farmers and the land they rely on to grow our food.

1. Demand for organic could skyrocket

As of last month, organic products represented more than 5 percent of all grocery sales in the US – and organics have been one of the strongest areas of growth for many retailers and grocery stores.

Now, with Whole Foods under the Amazon umbrella, that demand could increase exponentially. POLITICO noted that if this happens, “domestic organic acreage isn’t positioned to handle such an expansion.” Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agricultural sustainability, consumers, corporate social responsibility, farmers, food, food waste, organic, Partnerships, precision agriculture, produce, supply chain sustainability, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, transparency, whole foods | Read 2 Responses

A call to help us strengthen the economic case for sustainability practices

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 30, 2017

Visiting my friend and Iowa corn farmer, Tim Richter.

Before installing a new heating system for your home, you’d want to conduct an analysis to make sure it’s worth the money, right? The same logic applies to farming – before a producer considers implementing conservation practices or new technologies, he or she will need to know how those practices will affect an operation’s bottom line.

Despite some good anecdotal information and several isolated field trial studies, the reality is we don’t have nearly enough information on the economic impacts – good or bad – of individual conservation practices. That means we cannot yet make an ironclad business case that will persuade the majority of farmers to implement conservation practices.

There are several key reasons for the dearth of information, and that’s partly my fault.

I’m hoping you can look past this and consider my call to work together to collect the necessary data to strengthen the case. Our food, livelihoods and landscapes depend on it. Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged data collection, economics, fertilizer, Illinois, Illinois Corn Growers Association, iowa, National Corn Growers Association, nutrient efficiency, On-Farm Network, Partnerships, precision agriculture, Precision Conservation Management, profitability, Soil Health Partnership, sustainable agriculture, water quality | Comments are closed

Conservation Technical Assistance should not get lost in the shuffle

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: May 12, 2017

Farmers understand the importance of sustainability and conservation in ag practices Yesterday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a massive reorganization of the agency. Among other changes, the Secretary plans to create a new Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation to oversee the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Risk Management Agency (RMA), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Previously, NRCS reported to the Undersecretary of Natural Resources and the Environment, and both RMA and FSA reported to the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

On the surface, combining conservation and farm productivity programs makes sense, since sustainability is almost always good for a producer’s bottom line. Reducing duplication and bureaucracy between these agencies could streamline efforts to implement conservation practices while protecting farmers’ incomes. However, a lot remains to be seen and will depend on who fills the Undersecretary position.

No matter who fills that role, Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) funding and outreach should remain a top priority under the new organization. Here’s why. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farm bill, farmers, farming, fertilizer, food production, nitrogen, NRCS, nutrient efficiency, Sonny Perdue, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, technical assistance, USDA | Comments are closed

Conservation relies on profitability

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 5, 2017

Conservation practices help make this wheat field more profitable Whether in agriculture or any other business, if you don’t have enough money coming in to pay the bills, it’s hard to find the time or resources for anything other than working to turn a red budget spreadsheet black.

A wheat farmer friend from Washington recently told me that current prices are $4/bushel, the same as 40 years ago. Take into account inflation, and that’s a significant decline. Nationally, the USDA predicts that net farm income will drop by almost 9 percent this year, the fourth year in a row of declines after reaching a record high in 2013. Farmers also face enormous volatility in income, with fluctuations in yield, demand, as well as crop and input prices.

It’s no surprise then that environmentalists’ calls to cut crop insurance, disaster programs or other conservation payments fall on deaf ears in the agricultural community – or serve only to raise blood pressure levels across the Corn Belt. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Conservation Technology Information Center, conservation tillage, corn, crop insurance, farm bill, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, kansas, National Corn Growers Association, no-till, nutrient efficiency, profitability, soil erosion, soil health, Soil Health Partnership, stewardship, sustainable agriculture, water quality, wheat | Read 2 Responses

Why ag advisers should increase conservation offerings to farmers

By Jamie Powers / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 28, 2017

Ag retailers help these farmers manage their farm sustainably Farmers have a host of competing priorities clamoring for their time, energy and money. Fortunately, they often have trusted advisers to help them make good decisions for their operations – including about conservation practices on the farm.

These practices, such as improving fertilizer efficiency and planting cover crops, can provide significant benefits for farmers: increasing or stabilizing yields, reducing erosion, and ensuring more of the fertilizer applied delivers yield instead of being lost to water or air. They can also increase profitability.

But in order to get the best bang for every conservation buck, many of these practices require technical and agronomic expertise. As PrecisionAg suggested, who better to help integrate these practices into farm operations than the ag retailers and consultants who know their clients’ farms so well?

By expanding their conservation service offerings, ag retailers and crop advisers can meet growing demand from farmers – while also keeping their businesses, and that of their farmer clients, competitive. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged ag retailers, conservation district, conservation tillage, crop advisors, extension services, extreme weather, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, Iowa State University, Natural Resources Conservation Service, no-till, nutrient efficiency, nutrient management, resilience, soil erosion, soil health, sustainable agriculture, USDA NRCS, water quality | Read 3 Responses

Why Sonny Perdue should prioritize these 3 farm programs

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: April 24, 2017

Sonny Perdue will now lead the United States Department of Agriculture The U.S. Senate will confirm the Secretary of Agriculture today, empowering former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to lead an agency with a $155 billion budget, some 100,000 employees and ultimate responsibility for our nation’s food security.

Over 80 percent of this budget goes toward farm programs, food stamps, school meals and other mandatory spending programs. The remainder goes to protect farmers’ livelihoods, rural economies and the environment – but according to the Administration’s budget proposals, this pot of funding could be cut by over 21 percent.

Retaining current funding levels for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – and conservation programs in particular – ensures that farmers can remain productive during periods of extreme weather, protects habitat for wildlife without sacrificing profitability and improves on-farm efficiencies.

Secretary Perdue will need to advocate on behalf of farmers to protect these programs – and he’ll need help from the private sector, since the federal government alone cannot maintain farming as a core industry in America, make sustainable agriculture the norm or feed a growing population.

Here are three programs that provide widespread benefits – and that should be a top priority for the new Secretary. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, confirmation, confirmation hearing, conservation, Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, ecosystems, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, farm bill, food production, NRCS, Partnerships, pollution, profitability, public-private partnerships, Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, USDA, water quality, Working Lands for Wildlife | Comments are closed

Farmers and environmentalists want the same thing

By Rebecca Haynes / Twitter profile / Published: March 21, 2017

Farmers and environmentalists want the same thing

I’m spending time on this year’s National Ag Day thinking back gratefully to a recent meeting I had with farmers.

I was attending the annual farm exchange program offered through the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, which facilitates learning opportunities on California farms. This year’s program brought together state environmental policy professionals and growers from the Central Coast, an epicenter for growing the nation’s specialty crops, such as lettuce, broccoli, and strawberries. My aim was “to see sustainability through the eyes of farmers.” We toured various agricultural operations, had thoughtful discussions, and stayed with host families in the local farm community.

My host was Erin Amaral, who manages 1,170 acres of vineyards near San Luis Obispo. Erin and I got along immediately – and our conversations kept coming back to one central tenet: farmers and environmentalists want the same things. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market / Also tagged almonds, bipartisan, california, California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, carbon, Central Coast, central valley, clean water, common ground, herbicides, National Ag Day, orchard, Partnerships, pest control, pesticides, soil erosion, soil health, specialty crops, sustainable agriculture, vineyard, water quantity | Comments are closed