Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): food production

Collaboration can save the Mississippi River watershed

By EDF Blogs / Bio / Published: October 14, 2015

By Suzy Friedman, Director, Agricultural Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund and Max Starbuck, Director, Market Development, National Corn Growers Association

Credit: America’s Watershed Initiative

Today, a diverse group of more than 400 businesses, associations, government agencies, science organizations, academic institutions and non-profit organizations released the first-ever report card evaluating the condition of one of our nation’s most storied and central waterways. This effort, known as America’s Watershed Initiative, was undertaken to provide information on the challenges facing the waters and lands that make up the 31-state Mississippi River Watershed and the 250 rivers that flow into it.

The overall mark was less than stellar, a D+. However, the process of grading has yielded a pathway to improvement.

Why the poor rating? The watershed continues to experience increased pressure from the demands of urbanization, agriculture, transportation and land development.

Fortunately, moving from a “D+” to an “A” grade is achievable – with new levels of understanding and collaboration. That’s why the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Corn Growers Association have a real desire to work together on this and similar initiatives. Read More »

Posted in Coasts and Watersheds / Also tagged agriculture, America's Watershed Initiative, AWI, conservation, environmental defense fund, farmers, farms, food security, National Corn Growers Association, NCGA, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainability, United Suppliers, water quality | Comments are closed

How to overcome big data’s barriers

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 7, 2015

Credit: Flickr user Marcos Gasparutti

As I wrote earlier this week, data analytics technology has the potential to dramatically change the way we produce food, making it more abundant and sustainable. But a number of obstacles remain.

Here’s how we can address some of the biggest challenges and hasten ag’s big data revolution for the benefit of people and the planet.

1. Protecting privacy

Many growers have told me they are willing to share data – if they know exactly where it’s going and how it will be used, and if they can benefit from the data analysis that occurs. However, big concerns remain about data being used for regulatory compliance purposes, given to rival farmers, or shared with seed and fertilizer companies that would gain a competitive advantage. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, big data, farmers, food security, soil health, sustainability, technology, United Suppliers, USDA | 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 Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, CDP, climate change, emissions, farmers, food, GHG mitigation, greenhouse gas, Smithfield Foods, supply chain, transparency | Comments are closed

Powerful business: the lever for change across the ag supply chain

By Elizabeth Sturcken / Bio / Published: September 3, 2015

A longer version of this post was first published on EDF+Business.

Sometimes when a problem seems too big, too ugly and too complex to handle, you need a lever to help move things along. All of the big environmental problems we currently face fall into this category.

When it comes to tackling our planet’s biggest problems, there is a full spectrum of approaches and many different leverage points. A thriving planet and a thriving economy, farmers included, don’t have to be at odds. EDF is focusing on helping businesses make their supply chains cleaner, more efficient and more profitable.

By collaborating with decision makers at every point in the agricultural supply chain – from retailers and food companies to agribusiness and farmers – we are building demand for and increasing the supply of sustainably produced grains.

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, consumer products, deforestation, farmers, FedEx, greenhouse gas, McDonald's, supply chain, sustainability, Walmart | Comments are closed

More reasons to embrace food sustainability

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 13, 2015

Credit: Flickr user Ruben Holthuijsen

There is no shortage of news about the contamination of drinking water sources caused by fertilizer run-off from agriculture. And there is no shortage of regulatory responses to these events: Ohio and Michigan’s commitment to reduce phosphorus levels in Lake Erie by 40 percent; the nitrate lawsuit in Des Moines, Iowa, and Monday’s ruling on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to enforce total maximum daily load specifications for the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition, food companies wanting to source sustainably grown grains to meet that consumer demand and reduce their own supply chain risks are sending the same signal, further shining the spotlight on the growing demand for improved environmental outcomes from how we produce food.

If farmers can help meet these demands by being increasingly efficient with nutrients and protecting their soils, they will see nearer term benefits and possibly stem future regulations. Here’s why:

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, Des Moines, EPA, farmers, farms, Lake Erie, nutrient efficiency, regulation, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainability, United Suppliers | Comments are closed

Bridging the gap of skepticism between producers and environmental groups

By Peyton Johnson / Published: June 29, 2015

Peyton Johnson, communications intern at EDF, with her mother, Kay Johnson Smith.

Producers and environmental groups haven’t always been the best of friends. That’s why, when I got an internship this summer with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), my mom was more than a little uneasy.

My mom, Kay Johnson Smith, is president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, a non-profit group that supports producers and promotes better consumer understanding of modern animal agriculture.

After learning more about EDF, my mom eventually came around to the idea of my working for a conservation organization. That’s because I shared with her EDF’s mission and explained that the organization works with producers to meet the growing demands for food in ways that also improve the environment. I’m happy to say that she now is pleased to see me working to bridge the gap of skepticism between producers and environmental groups.

As part of EDF’s effort to work with diverse partners and to share their voices, I asked my mom to share what motivates her work and her vision on the role of sustainability in U.S. agriculture. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, animal agriculture alliance, consumer, cooper farms, environment, environmental defense fund, fair oaks farm, farm, farmer, growing population, kay johnson, kay johnson smith, producers, rancher, Smithfield Foods | Read 4 Responses

SUSTAIN: navigating the boom in precision ag

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 19, 2015

Credit: United Soybean Board

There’s new proof that precision agriculture is on the rise.

Earlier this month, CropLife magazine and Purdue University released a survey that found more than 85 percent of agricultural retailers plan on investing in precision agriculture services in the next year. And more than 15 percent of the 2,000 retailers surveyed will invest over $100,000.

This is good news for increasing fertilizer efficiency, because precision technologies can go a long way toward helping farmers know when and where to apply fertilizer. Applying fertilizer when, where, and in the amounts it’s needed can help save on input costs and reduce the environmental impacts that occur when excess nitrogen runs off into nearby waters or is released into the air.

But there’s a caveat – with so many precision agriculture tools available today and even more coming to market on a regular basis, how is a farmer to know what is best? Growers need to have confidence that precision ag tools will help them optimize their fertilizer use, improve their farm’s sustainability, and protect their yields. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, croplife, farmers, farms, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, precision agriculture, soil health, sustainability, United Suppliers | Comments are closed

Meet Brent Bible, state trooper turned farmer and mentor

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 14, 2015

A new Purdue University study released this week found that agriculture will create nearly 60,000 jobs each year for the next five years. But to meet this growing demand, more students will need to graduate with agricultural degrees. And as the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a recent interview, the farming sector must do more to work with students and the educational system as a whole.

That’s where growers like Brent Bible come into play. Brent is inspiring the next generation of farmers, scientists, researchers, and agronomists through his work with Purdue students who help him operate his 3,000-acre grain farm in Indiana. He’s also promoting soil health, nutrient efficiency, and sustainable agriculture through changes in on-farm practices.

I asked Brent, a former Indiana state police officer, about his transition to the agricultural world, his work with the Soil Health Partnership, and what gets him out of bed every morning. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, farmers, farms, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Purdue, Purdue University, soil health, Soil Health Partnership | Comments are closed

Why the food movement is alive and well

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 11, 2015

Mark Bittman’s recent New York Times op-ed, “Let’s Make Food Issues Real,” is a grim assessment of the current state of the food movement – in fact, he questions whether a food movement exists at all.

Bittman states that the lack of major change to government food policies means the food movement is not winning. “I’ll believe there’s a food movement when Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are forced to talk directly about food issues,” Bittman writes.

I’ll take that bet. With the drought in California threatening the nation’s produce and the other impacts climate change pose to our food supply, I think it’s likely that the next group of presidential candidates will discuss food issues on the campaign trail. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, California Air Resources Board, Carbon Offsets, climate change, drought, farmers, farms, food movement, Mark Bittman, nutrient efficiency, USDA | Read 2 Responses

Water risk: Which food companies are managing it and how can they do better?

By Rebecca Shaw / Bio / Published: May 8, 2015

Credit: Flickr user phphoto2010

Unreliable water supply and quality is a source of enormous risk to the agricultural sector. That was the key takeaway of a new report from Ceres that evaluated 37 of the world’s leading agriculture, beverage, meat and packaged food companies to see how they are managing risks from diminishing water supplies and water quality.

In a nutshell, companies need to improve their performance.

Companies use huge amounts of water in the production of crops, which also affects water quality when nitrogen fertilizer not absorbed by plants runs off into waterways. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, climate change, drought, farmers, sustainability, water, water deficit, water quality, water use | Comments are closed