Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): SUSTAIN

Improving water quality is a shared responsibility

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 19, 2017

Iowa farmer Denny Friest surveys his fields from his combine.

Iowa farmer Denny Friest (Photo credit: John Rae)

I spent the summer meeting with farmers, commodity groups and food companies in the Midwest to discuss collaborative conservation approaches. Whether we were in Missouri, Iowa or Minnesota, water quality was top of mind.

Agriculture has a large impact on water quality – the sector is the source of 70 percent of the nutrients that flow down the Mississippi River and cause dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.

Farmers have made big strides on implementing and scaling conservation measures to improve water quality and agriculture’s overall environmental footprint. Unsung heroes like Tim Richter, Kristin Duncanson and Denny Friest are constantly fine-tuning nutrient and soil management with new efficiency tools, finding better ways to implement cover crops or reduce tillage, installing wetlands and buffers, and introducing new crops into their rotations. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Water / Also tagged campbell soup company, collaborative conservation, Denny Friest, farm bill, Kristin Duncanson, Kristin Weeks Duncanson, Land O'Lakes, midwest row crop collaborative, nutrient management, nutrient use, Smithfield Foods, Tim Richter, USDA, water quality | Read 1 Response

Meet sustainable agriculture’s new whiz kid

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: April 19, 2017

Scott Henry is the business development manager for LongView Farms, a row crop grain operation in central Iowa that specializes in seed production

Scott Henry, 27, a partner and business development manager for LongView Farms

Every year right before Commodity Classic, EDF brings together a group of farmers who share their lessons learned in sustainable agriculture – and offer insights on bringing conservation practices to scale. These producers are our advisors, sounding boards and partners. They help us understand what agricultural policies really look like when implemented on the farm, and how best to convey to farmers that not all environmentalists point fingers at ag.

This year we had a new addition to the group, someone who brought an important perspective because he’s far younger than the average-aged farmer. Scott Henry is a 27-year-old partner and business development manager for LongView Farms, a row crop grain operation in central Iowa that specializes in seed production. Scott is responsible for business growth, strategy, production operations and the implementation of precision agriculture technology across the farm.

I asked Scott about his start in farming, about the importance of financial expertise in agriculture and whether sustainability really is good for growers’ bottom lines. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged 4Rs, ADM, agree, economics, Indiana University, iowa, Iowa State University, Kelley School of Business, Kristin Weeks Duncanson, Land O'Lakes, land stewardship, LongView Farms, Purdue University, Scott Henry, Texas A&M, Unilever | Comments are closed

Farmers’ voices are essential to figuring out sustainability. Let’s listen up.

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 6, 2017

The corn and soybean fields that stretch for miles across the Midwest are quiet this time of year, mostly frozen surfaces waiting for the spring planting season.

Although many farmers are not in the field dawn to dusk during the winter, they are still plenty busy. Between planning for the next season, taking care of animals and attending countless meetings, farmers are seldom idle even if their crop fields are.

But lucky for us, winter does afford more time to talk.

One friend from Iowa who works hard to use fertilizer efficiently to avoid runoff and optimize plant uptake of nutrients said he worries that food companies don’t always recognize the sustainability efforts of mainstream farmers. Too often, he said, it seems food companies look for simple labels like organic.

A soybean grower I know from Ohio who has invested a lot of time learning farming practices that will help restore nearby Lake Erie told me it is a constant struggle to balance making a living with repairing decades of agricultural nutrient runoff that have imperiled the health of the lake. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged ag retailers, ag tech, corn, crop advisors, data, farm bill, Field to Market, Land O'Lakes, local, organic, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, soybeans, technology, Walmart, water quality, wheat | Read 3 Responses

The year the private sector stepped up for land, water and wildlife

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 29, 2016

Read an update on methane, manure and community impacts in North Carolina

The private sector stepped up for land, water and wildlife

By this time next year, I believe we’ll reflect back on 2017 as the year that the private sector stepped up to protect our land, water and wildlife for future generations.

I believe this because major retailers, food companies, agricultural businesses and farmers laid the groundwork in 2016, making sizeable commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), improve water quality and conserve habitat for imperiled wildlife.

President-elect Trump has made political theater by threatening to kill the regulations that protect our nation’s air and water. But in the real world, the private sector is going the other direction.

Forward-thinking businesses are rolling up their sleeves and finding ways to make those regulations work better by accelerating the uptake of practices that are good for the planet and the bottom line.

These are three areas to watch in 2017.

Posted in Water / Also tagged Arizona, at-risk species, california, Campbell Soup, Cargill, drought, Drought Contingency Plan, fertilizer efficiency, General Mills, greater sage-grouse, habitat quantification tool, Kellogg's, Land O'Lakes, midwest row crop collaborative, monarch butterfly, Nevada, PepsiCo, Smithfield, soil health, voluntary conservation, Walmart, water quality, water scarcity | Read 3 Responses

This Iowa farmer proves that profit and sustainability go hand in hand

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 2, 2016

Photo credit: John Rae

Denny Friest is one of the most progressive and savvy farmers I’ve ever met. Through his participation in the Iowa Soybean Association’s On-Farm Network since 2001, Denny conducted replicated strip trials on his operation to compare different nitrogen application rates and find ways to be more efficient and profitable.

The Iowa legislature saw so much value in this field trial program that it provided funding to reimburse farmers who lost yield in their efforts to improve efficiency. With no risk involved, Denny was able to see “how low he could go” with fertilizer applications before he had an economic loss in production. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged ag retailers, corn, Des Moines Water Works, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer management, fertilizer optimization, fertilizer runoff, iowa, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association, Land O'Lakes, nitrogen, nitrogen surplus, nutrient management, nutrient use, soil health, soy, water quality | Comments are closed

What was left off the menu at the WSJ Global Food Forum?

By Jenny Ahlen / Bio / Published: October 14, 2016

Mother with child Many of us spend a considerable amount of time thinking about food – whether it’s deciding what’s for dinner or how healthy something is for our family. Given that I work on food sustainability and am married to a chef, I spend an even more extreme amount of time thinking about food.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal hosted the first annual Global Food Forum in New York City – more proof that food and agricultural issues are increasingly on the radar screens of many executives, including those from Walmart, Campbell’s Soup, Panera, Perdue, Monsanto and many more.

I was eager to attend the event and hear the discussions among some of the most powerful food companies out there. They covered many topics including food safety, “clean” labels, biotechnology, antibiotic use and the humane treatment of animals.

All important stuff – but given the prestige of the event, I’d like to bring up the elephant in the room (or more accurately the elephant not in the room): sustainability. The environmental impacts of agriculture were barely touched upon, and considering the corporate heavyweights who were in the room, this was a missed opportunity on a massive scale. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Food, Water / Also tagged agricultural sustainability, agriculture, climate change, conservation, deforestation, drought, environmental defense fund, farmers, food production, Land O'Lakes, midwest row crop collaborative, supply chain, sustainability, water quality | Comments are closed

What Michael Pollan gets wrong about Big Ag

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 12, 2016

Journalist Michael Pollan deserves credit for elevating the national conversation about food. Over the course of 25 years, his articles and books have thoughtfully contemplated the troubling side effects of the American diet and the way our food is produced.

But his latest piece in the New York Times Magazine reads like a script for a black and white Western, with food companies, agribusiness and commodity producers cast in the role of Bad Guy and local organic farmers and vegans cast as the Men in White Hats.

In Pollan’s script, the bad guys are responsible for everything from America’s weight problem and rising health care costs to widespread environmental degradation and monocultures that threaten national security. If only the law would get on the good guys’ side, he muses.

Food production is actually changing

All industries have issues that continually need to be addressed, and the food industry is no exception.

Agriculture consumes a lot of land and water and emits greenhouse gas emissions that must be curbed. And, yes, our diets have contributed to America’s obesity epidemic.

Except, our food system is changing, more than Pollan acknowledges.

The uptick in consumer demand for local, organic products is promising. So, too, are the contributions that Pollan’s so-called villains – the companies, agribusinesses and commodity farmers who produce what’s on our plate – are making to the environment. They deserve recognition. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Food / Also tagged ag retailer, ag retailers, agribusiness, Campbell Soup, climate change, commodity crops, commodity farmer, corn, cover crops, David Festa, environmental defense fund, factory farm, farm, farmer, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer pollution, food industry, General Mills, greenhouse gas emissions, industrial-scale, Kellogg, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, large-scale, Michael Pollan, monoculture, no-till, nutrient efficiency, resilience, resiliency, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, soil health, soy, tilling, Walmart, wheat | Read 3 Responses

How ag retailers are helping improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 7, 2016

Farmers in front of a tractor Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN® platform – a powerful tool that can make a real impact in improving regional water quality — is coming to the Chesapeake Bay.

The Mill®, a large agricultural retail company, today became the first business in the area to utilize SUSTAIN in Maryland and Pennsylvania. SUSTAIN provides ag retailers with tools and training in best practices for fertilizer efficiency and soil health – such as cover crops and precision ag technologies – while maintaining the potential for high yields. Retail staff then bring this knowledge to the farmers they serve, meaning that one retail location can reach hundreds of farmers.

That’s why the platform, co-developed by Environmental Defense Fund, is taking off. Thus far, 27 ag retailers across the country have been trained, and food companies such as Smithfield Foods, Campbell’s Soup, Unilever, and Kellogg are connecting to the SUSTAIN platform as a way to meet their corporate sustainability goals.

I asked Ben Hushon, owner of The Mill, to tell me what this means for the Bay, for his company, and for farmers. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Coasts and Watersheds / Also tagged ag retail, agriculture, agronomists, agronomy, Campbell's Soup, Chesapeake Bay, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, growers, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, Land O'Lakes, Maryland, Midwest, Pennsylvania, row crops, Smithfield Foods, soil health, Unilever, water quality | Comments are closed

Two ways to reduce toxic algal blooms

By Karen Chapman / Bio / Published: July 28, 2016

Photo: Eric Vance, US EPA

For a month now, South Florida Atlantic beaches have been blanketed by a sickly green, toxic algae sludge that has kept tourists away and caused local businesses to lose millions.

Florida has a bigger headache this summer than most states, but algae blooms are hardly unique.

Last week, more than 100 people were sickened from toxic algae in a Utah lake largely fed by agricultural runoff and treated sewage water. And just two summers ago, an outbreak in Lake Erie forced the City of Toledo to close off its water supply for nearly half a million residents.

Agricultural runoff also means wasted money for farmers, who can spend approximately half of their input costs on fertilizer.

There are ways to reduce the runoff that contributes to water quality problems and kills marine life, year after year. Algae blooms can be minimized and maybe even prevented if we scale up existing efforts to improve fertilizer efficiency and soil health – practices that can also save farmers money and boost their yields.

Two initiatives and private-sector partnerships are making real headway in doing just that. And if these efforts are replicated at scale, they could have a national – and even international – impact. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, algae, algae bloom, Campbell's Soup, environmental defense fund, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, Florida, Kellogg's, Lake Erie, Land O'Lakes, nutrient efficiency, nutrient management, NutrientStar, Ohio, pollution, runoff, Smithfield Foods, supply chain, supply chain sustainability, sustainable supply chain, toxic algae, Unilever, United Suppliers, Utah, Walmart, water pollution, water quality | Read 6 Responses

How this ag retailer is changing the entire U.S. food production system

By Katie Anderson / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 13, 2016

United Suppliers’ Matt Carstens

In 2014, Walmart challenged its suppliers to find ways to reduce fertilizer runoff from farms – which can cause air and water pollution and mean wasted money for farmers. The target was food companies whose supply chains use large quantities of fertilizer for commodity crops like corn, and the goal was to improve efficiency in their supply chains. Two years later, nearly 20 Walmart suppliers have signed on to the initiative, spawning a trend in which supplier commitments drive tangible changes on American farms.

At the heart of this fertilizer efficiency trend is Matt Carstens, VP of Crop Nutrients for United Suppliers and the force behind a sustainability platform for farmers called SUSTAIN, developed in coordination with Environmental Defense Fund.

SUSTAIN trains ag retailers on the best practices for fertilizer efficiency and soil health. As ag retailers are a primary source of advice for farmers, the retailers then bring this important knowledge to the farmers they serve.

SUSTAIN is proving to be popular as a way for food companies to connect directly with farmers in their sourcing areas. Thus far, Smithfield Foods, Campbell’s Soup, and Unilever are all using SUSTAIN as part of their sustainable sourcing efforts. And Kellogg’s is the latest big brand to jump on board, with an announcement today that they, too, will be using SUSTAIN.

I asked Matt to explain the reason for this trend, why ag retailers believe in SUSTAIN, and how he got involved in the ag retail world. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged ag retail, agriculture, Campbell's Soup, conservation, crop nutrients, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, food production, food security, Kellogg, Land O'Lakes, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Smithfield Foods, soil health, sustainability, United Suppliers, Walmart | Comments are closed