Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): food

How an ag retail program is scaling up sustainable practices

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: February 17, 2016

SUSTAIN™ is continuing to gain momentum with food companies and government agencies.

Just today, the world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, said it would begin using the platform to reduce nutrient losses across its Midwest sourcing areas. And last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $720 million in funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCCP) to advance sustainable practices. SUSTAIN is part of two RCPPs in Illinois and Iowa that will encourage more growers to engage in voluntary nutrient management and conservation practices.

SUSTAIN was developed by United Suppliers, Inc., a cooperative of agricultural retailers whose customers span 45 million acres across the U.S. and Canada, in coordination with EDF. The program trains ag retailers in using proven, effective technologies, practices, and products that advance sustainable agriculture. The retail staff then bring this knowledge to the growers they serve.

This unique business model has the potential to bring sustainable farming measures to scale. One ag retail location can for example reach hundreds of growers and thousands of acres.

Here are the details on why these two announcements mean a big leap forward for agricultural sustainability. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, corn, ecosystems, farmers, farming, farms, fertilizer, food production, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, soil health, supply chain, SUSTAIN, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, USDA | Comments are closed

How “fertigation” is helping this citrus grower beat the drought

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 5, 2016

A common misperception is that citrus season is in the summer, but peak citrus season is actually happening right now.

California grew over 90 percent of U.S. lemons last season, but the severe drought in 2015 caused a 9 percent dip in domestic lemon production compared to the previous growing season. This meant higher costs for farmers, consumers – and the planet.

In honor of peak citrus season, I asked Bakersfield citrus grower John S. Gless how he’s getting more crop per drop of fertilizer and water through “fertigation,” why efficiency and sustainability practices are good investments, and why land stewardship is a core part of farming. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged california, California drought, citrus, climate change, conservation, drip irrigation, drought, ecosystems, farmers, farms, fertilizer, food security, irrigation efficiency, lemon, micro irrigation, nutrient efficiency, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, UC Riverside, USDA, water use, western water | Comments are closed

Why the sustainable agriculture glass is half full

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 8, 2015

Suzy Friedman, Director of Agricultural Sustainability at EDF

I’ve been working to promote and implement sustainable agriculture practices for nearly 15 years. But the last two years have seen more action and momentum in this space than in all of the previous 13 years combined – and I’m more enthusiastic than ever.

Let me be clear – we still have a long way to go. As a USDA report released at the Paris climate talks noted, warming temperatures pose a significant threat to agriculture and food security across the globe. And, despite technological advancements, the multimillion-dollar question of how we’re going to measure and quantify sustainable agriculture remains.

But a new progress report from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), also released last week in Paris, reaffirms my optimism and excitement. We’re headed in the right direction, and sustainable agriculture is on its way to becoming the norm. Here’s why. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Campbell's, Climate, climate change, conservation, ecosystems, farmers, farms, fertilizer, food production, food security, General Mills, GHG mitigation, precision agriculture, sustainable agriculture, Unilever, USDA | Comments are closed

Fertilizer runoff is just one piece of the dead zone puzzle

By Eileen McLellan / Bio / Published: October 21, 2015

Dead zones (also called hypoxic zones) are caused by a rapid growth in algae that leads to less dissolved oxygen in the water and the death of aquatic species. Credit: Ohio Wetlands Association

It’s true that fertilizer runoff, sewage, and other pollutants from the Corn Belt have significantly boosted dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s because up to half of the fertilizer applied isn’t absorbed by crops, and in order to grow more food we’re using 20 times more fertilizer in the Corn Belt today than in the 1950s.

But even if we optimize fertilizer use on all cropland in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basins, nutrients will still be lost to rivers and streams and carried into the Gulf of Mexico. Some of this loss is inevitable given factors like unpredictable weather, but my colleagues and I set out to quantify other reasons for why the Corn Belt exports so much nitrogen.

We discovered that an increase in fertilizer inputs is only one part of the problem. Three other distinct but interconnected factors also contribute to water pollution and the Gulf dead zone: the loss of perennial cover, the construction of artificial drainage systems, and the loss of wetlands. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, corn, cover crops, dead zone, ecosystems, farmers, farms, fertilizer, food production, Gulf of Mexico, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, nutrient pollution, row crop, sustainable agriculture, western water, wetlands | Comments are closed

3 reasons food companies should track emissions from their supply chains

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 17, 2015

Few professions require as close attention to the weather as farming. Extreme temperatures, floods, drought, and storms are the quickest way for a promising crop to turn into a total loss. That’s why it is surprising that a new report from the environmental data organization CDP shows food companies largely ignore their agricultural supply chains when making climate commitments. Less than 25 percent of the companies reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) data are accounting for indirect emissions from fertilizer, manure, or deforestation.

There are various reasons why so few food companies extend climate commitments to their full supply chains – global supply chains are complex and it can be difficult to trace product components back to their origins.

But failure to account for agricultural emissions is problematic. As the CDP report noted, at least 10 percent of global GHG emissions are unaccounted for, meaning food companies are lacking important insight into climate risks in their supply chains.

Here are three reasons why food companies should invest the time and energy required to take this step: Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, CDP, climate change, ecosystems, emissions, farmers, fertilizer, food production, GHG mitigation, greenhouse gas, Smithfield Foods, supply chain, sustainable agriculture, transparency | Comments are closed

Cutting food waste to support farmers and the famished

By Peyton Johnson / Published: August 11, 2015

Surplus food at the Food Donation Connection. Photo Credit: USDA.

Food waste affects more than just our wallets. Approximately one-third of all food produced in the world gets thrown away every year, leading to 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions. At 2.6 trillion pounds, that’s enough sustenance to feed three billion people, or almost all people living in poverty worldwide today.

That’s why, last week, when I attended a Q&A session for ag interns at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with Secretary Tom Vilsack, I was intrigued when a fellow intern asked a question regarding food sustainability and what the U.S. can do to ensure that there will be enough food to feed the 9 billion people expected to populate the world by 2050.

The Secretary’s answer? Reduce food waste.

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, emissions, farm, farmers, feeding forward, food and agriculture organization of the united nations, food bank, food chain, food companies, food waste, greenhouse gas, grocery store, homeless shelter, poverty, produce, producers, secretary tom vilsack, supply chain, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable agriculture, teens opposing poverty, united states department of agriculture, USDA, waste no food | Read 1 Response

Buy me some peanuts and … sustainable produce?

By Stephanie Businelli / Published: July 24, 2015

Let the games begin! America’s sports teams are moving into the sustainable food arena.

A new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Green Sports Alliance highlights 20 venues that have played their part to reduce their impact on the environment. Of the 20 locations, 18 purchase produce from local farms, 17 provide organic food options, 14 compost their food, and seven use biodegradable eating utensils and plates. In order to provide the freshest food available, five venues even have their own on-site gardens.

These venues are going the distance – from the Portland Trail Blazers’ Moda Center to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park – and providing fans with sustainable food options while simultaneously combating issues such as greenhouse gas emissions from food waste.

Which team’s efforts are best? We asked some of EDF’s sports fans (myself included!) to talk about what their favorite team’s venues have done:

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged #compost, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, drought, food waste, Green Sports Alliance, LEED Certification, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York Yankees, organic, Philadelphia Sixers, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Green Building Council, water use, western water | Comments are closed

How cover crops can help growers beat droughts and floods

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 22, 2015

Cover crops can include grasses like cereal rye.

Corn is trying to fight this summer’s extreme weather, and unfortunately, the weather is winning.

There are serious floods in the Midwest, devastating droughts in California, and brutal heat waves along the eastern seaboard. Ohio for example had a record June rainfall of 11 inches, which stunted corn roots and prevented many growers from planting any corn crops. In Northwest Ohio alone, 100,000 acres were left unplanted. At the same time, places in my home state of North Carolina experienced a June heat wave during the critical corn pollination period, significantly damaging corn yields.

These extreme weather events leave many farmers searching for ways to make the best of a challenging growing season. Although June’s weather was the opposite in Ohio and North Carolina, cover crops offer a proven solution to deal with both conditions. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, California agriculture, California drought, cash crop, climate change, conservation, Conservation Technology Information Center, corn, cover crop, crops, drought, ecosystems, farm, farmer, fertilizer, flood, nitrogen, North Carolina, nutrient, Ohio, pollination, soil, Soil Health Partnership, soy, soybean, soybeans, SUSTAIN, sustainable, sustainable agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, sustainable grain, United Suppliers MB Gro Program, water use, western water, yields | Comments are closed

Note to Congress: Pitting fish against farms won’t solve California’s drought

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: July 15, 2015

(Updated July 16, 2015)

A bill to supposedly address California’s devastating drought, authored by Rep. David Valadao, cleared the House of Representatives today.

Unfortunately, this proposal – dubiously named the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 – is yet another attempt to move more water through California’s vast Central Valley Project at a time when we can least afford it and at the expense of many water users.

Among other problems, the bill would permanently undermine science-based protections and regulatory assurances for at-risk species and ecosystems that are essential in providing reliable food, safe drinking water, and jobs to millions of Americans.

The proposed tradeoffs here are nothing new. Similar bills – H.R. 3964 and 5781 in 2014, both opposed by the White House and the State of California – also pitted fish against farms.

It’s time we move away from finger pointing and start finding collaborative solutions to the drought that increase the resiliency of our freshwater ecosystems while supporting agricultural communities in California’s Central Valley. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Also tagged agriculture, american food security act, bill, california, California drought, capitol, capitol hill, central valley, central valley project, Climate, climate change, Congress, conservation, drinking water, drought, farm, farmer, fish, groundwater, groundwater management, Kenneth Baerenklau, law, legislature, sustainable, sustainable groundwater management act, UC Davis, UC Riverside, University of California, water allocations, water market, water use, western water, White House | Comments are closed

What a visit with a California citrus grower taught me about agricultural sustainability

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 6, 2015

EDF’s Sara Kroopf smells the soil at a citrus nursery in Arvin, California.

Putting yourself in the boots of a California farmer will give you a whole new perspective.

That’s why I recently spent a few days alongside Matt Fisher, a citrus grower in Kern County, California – to better understand growers’ challenges and concerns, and to rethink how environmental groups and farmers can achieve shared goals.

The experience was part of a farm exchange program offered through the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, which facilitates learning opportunities on California farms.

With a record-breaking drought in California, tensions between environmentalists and farmers run high, and finger pointing is everywhere. But that isn’t getting us anywhere. The time I spent on Matt’s farm gave me new inspiration to break down barriers, put aside stereotypes, and work together. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, california, California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, California agriculture, conservation, crop, drought, environment, erosion, farm, farmer, fertilizer, grower, Kern County, natural resources, Oakland, oranges, soil, sustainable, sustainable agriculture, water use, western water | Comments are closed