Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): soil health

Meet the farmer who helped make no-till the norm in north central Montana

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: February 24, 2016

Approximately 56 percent of all corn, soy, wheat, and cotton farms use strip-tillage or no-till on at least a portion of their land. No-till, as defined by experts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, means “limiting soil disturbance to manage the amount and distribution of crop and plant residue on the soil surface year round.” Strip tillage, meaning soil disturbance occurs on 30 percent or less of the field, also qualifies as no-till.

No-till is a widely recognized conservation practice that can help growers maximize soil health. The practice works best when implemented year after year and combined with other conservation measures like fertilizer efficiency and cover crops (wherever geography permits). There are myriad benefits for farmers and the planet, but barriers still exist.

That’s why I’m so amazed by a no-till adoption rate of 90 percent in north central Montana.

I talked with Carl Mattson, Montana grain grower and an agricultural policy and conservation consultant, about why he made the switch to no-till, why he was an early adopter of the practice, why so many farmers in his region use no-till, and what he sees as other obstacles to the future of sustainable farming. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, conservation tillage, cover crops, drought, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, farms, fertilizer, food production, food security, no-till, NRCS, nutrient efficiency, stewardship, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, USDA, wheat | Comments are closed

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, food production, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, supply chain, SUSTAIN, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, USDA | Comments are closed

How this ag retailer is helping farmers scale the sustainability mountain

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 10, 2015

SUSTAIN-authorized retailer Jake Rechkemmer

Eighteen months ago, I’d never heard of United Suppliers – a cooperative of 560 locally owned and controlled agricultural retailers who operate nearly 2,500 retail locations that serve 45 million acres in the U.S. and Canada.

Now, I spend 75 percent of my work day focused on the SUSTAIN™ platform, developed by United Suppliers in coordination with Environmental Defense Fund. SUSTAIN works to train and authorize ag retailers on tools, technologies and practices for fertilizer optimization and improved soil health – without sacrificing yield.

And SUSTAIN is on fire – by the end of this year, over 200 ag retail employees will be authorized as SUSTAIN representatives, and General Mills, Campbell’s Soup, Unilever, Kellogg’s, and Smithfield Foods are all using or will use the platform in their sustainable sourcing efforts.

Part of the platform’s success is due to its unique model – it’s deployed through existing, trusted relationships that growers already have with their ag retailer. That’s why I asked SUSTAIN-authorized retailer Jake Rechkemmer, agronomy manager at Dunkerton Coop in Dunkerton, Iowa, to tell me about his SUSTAIN journey. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, competitive advantage, conservation, Dunkerton, ecosystems, farmers, fertilizer, food production, iowa, SUSTAIN, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, United Suppliers, water quality | Comments are closed

When landowners invest in sustainability, everyone wins

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 12, 2015

Forty percent of the U.S. is taken up by farmland. Yet only half of these acres are actually owned by active farmers. In the Corn Belt, 70 percent of growers rent some portion of their land from a non-farming landlord. And the biggest growth in non-farming landowners is coming from investors that see farmland ownership as a good business opportunity.

Here’s the problem: non-farming landlords aren’t always informed on the best ways to care for the farm, which can present environmental and economic challenges for tenants and the owners themselves.

As more non-farmers buy up cropland, government agencies, organizations, and even the private sector will need to ramp up efforts to educate landowners on the importance of soil health, fertilizer efficiency, and other conservation measures in protecting their farm’s value and making the land more resilient to extreme weather events.

Non-farming landowners can be a powerful partner in reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint at scale and ensuring food productivity in the future. Plus, when landowners invest in sustainability and collaborate with those farming their lands, everyone wins – growers, landowners, consumers, and the planet. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, cropland, farmers, farmland, fertilizer, food production, investment, iowa, landowners, nutrient efficiency, Oakland Institute, Partnerships, property value, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, tenants | Read 1 Response

How “plant doctor” Dan Sonke is making Campbell Soups’ ingredients greener

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 26, 2015

Dan Sonke, Manager of Agricultural Sustainability at Campbell Soup.

The Campbell Soup Company, along with a growing number of major food companies, is taking action to implement and support sustainable agriculture measures. It’s in their best interest to decrease the risk of supply chain disruptions.

Plus, there’s increasing consumer demand for transparency. A new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 78 percent of Americans are interested in how their food is produced.

I asked Dan Sonke, manager of agricultural sustainability at Campbell’s, to explain how his company is working with farmers to reduce environmental impacts, why they’re working with Environmental Defense Fund, and about the unprecedented demand he’s seeing for sustainable grain. Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Campbell Soup, Campbell's, ecosystems, farmers, farms, fertilizer, food production, food security, GHG mitigation, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, tomatoes, United Suppliers, vegetables, Walmart, wheat | Comments are closed

Why almond lovers can breathe easy again

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 20, 2015

It’s been a tough year for the almond. Vilified and beaten down, the nut has come to symbolize the California drought. While the reasons for and solutions to the drought are complicated and nuanced, the almond’s reputation has nonetheless suffered.

Meanwhile, farmers across the board are under increasing pressure – from regulatory requirements and increasing consumer demand for transparency – to modify their fertilizer application practices and thereby reduce nitrogen losses to the air and water.

Fortunately, there’s good reason for the almond to cheer up – a new Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) from the California Department of Food & Agriculture will support the state’s almond growers in their ongoing efforts to make nut production more sustainable, without sacrificing yields. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience / Also tagged agriculture, almond board of california, almonds, california, California Air Resources Board, drought, farmers, fertilizer, food production, food security, nut, Partnerships, pistachios, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, UC Davis, USDA, walnuts, water use, western water | Read 1 Response

How to make meat production more sustainable? Start with corn.

By Rebecca Shaw / Bio / Published: October 16, 2015

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on October 16th.

It’s World Food Day, which promotes awareness of the planet’s most challenging food issues, including eradicating global hunger. All food production depends on environmental health, but food production itself can harm the planet.

So to address hunger and increase food security, we’ll need to address the environmental impacts of food production and how the food choices we make every day affect the planet.

These choices affect the stability of the climate, the availability of clean drinking water and running rivers, and the persistence of native habitats and the wildlife they house.

No matter our political or cultural differences when it comes to food, there’s one trend that is clear: across the globe, we are making the choice to eat more meat. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience, ecosystems, fertilizer, Partnerships, Supply Chain, sustainable agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, China, climate change, corn, farmers, farms, feed grain, food production, food security, GHG mitigation, meat, meat production, North Carolina, nutrient efficiency, Smithfield Foods, sustainability | Comments are closed

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 Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, America's Watershed Initiative, AWI, conservation, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farms, food production, food security, National Corn Growers Association, NCGA, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, SUSTAIN, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, 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 Carbon Market / Also tagged agriculture, big data, ecosystems, farmers, food production, food security, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, technology, United Suppliers, USDA | Comments are closed

Why one Kansas farmer is leading a soil health revolution

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 28, 2015

Kansas farmer Gail Fuller

Soil health wasn’t always this sexy. The United Nations has named 2015 the International Year of the Soils, the National Corn Growers Association created the Soil Health Partnership, and the Telegraph newspaper is claiming that we can only ignore the soil crisis for so long, and that “just a handspan of topsoil lies between us and oblivion.”

But Kansas farmer Gail Fuller has been at the forefront of soil health measures since the early 1980s. Just last month, he hosted the fourth annual “Fuller Field School,” a soil health workshop that was attended by growers from across the globe.

I asked Gail, who operates a diversified 1,000 acre farm in Emporia, Kansas, to tell me why soil health is so important for our food system, and why other growers should get on board. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, agronomist, conservation tillage, cover crops, drought, ecosystems, erosion, farmers, farms, fertilizer pollution, flood, growers, kansas, no-till, soil management, sustainability, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed