Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): USDA

How Congress can help farmers stay profitable and resilient

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: February 27, 2017

Credit: Flickr user jkc photos.

At the first field hearing for the 2018 farm bill held in Kansas last week, producers had one clear message for the Senate Agriculture Committee: the stakes for farmers have never been higher. Commodity prices are the lowest they’ve been in over a decade, and farmers’ incomes are predicted to drop nearly 10 percent this year.

Members of Congress – and the new Secretary of Agriculture – will have their hands full in helping producers navigate the innate uncertainties of farming, balancing the myriad needs of farmers in different geographies, and ensuring that growers remain profitable.

There are two bright spots offering some low hanging fruit for agricultural legislators:

There’s agreement on at least one big issue: producers testifying last week conveyed a desire for continued funding for conservation programs in the farm bill.
Government doesn’t have to go it alone when it comes to sustainable agriculture: the private sector’s investment in conservation is unprecedented, and companies are eager to collaborate.

Here’s how to increase the impact of these already popular conservation programs. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Campbell's, farm bill, fertilizer efficiency, Kellogg's, Land O'Lakes, midwest row crop collaborative, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, Partnerships, Secretary of Agriculture, Senate Agriculture Committee, Smithfield, soil health, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Walmart | Read 3 Responses

Three areas ripe for public investment in U.S. agriculture

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: November 7, 2016

Sichuan Province, China

Agriculture doesn’t often attract big investments like those that flow to technology.

But that may have just changed.

The Chinese government recently announced plans to invest $450 billion over the next four years – yep, billions – to help modernize agriculture and scale up practices that increase food security while hopefully minimizing impacts to the environment.

This eye-popping investment should be seen as a wake up call to the United States. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Also tagged agricultural research, China, climate change, conservation, cover crops, data, grasslands, greenhouse gas emissions, investment, no-till, Partnerships, research funding, resilience, soil sensor, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture | Comments are closed

New project guarantees payment for growers who implement conservation measures

By Rebecca Haynes / Twitter profile / Published: October 3, 2016

Arkansas rice farmers participating in agricultural carbon markets. Credit: Adam Jahiel

Early adopters of innovative land-based conservation measures are rarely given an adequate reward for participating in agricultural carbon markets. But that’s all about to change, thanks to a nearly $1.2 million USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) that will leverage private capital investment into agricultural carbon offset practices and ensure that producers are paid for their efforts.

These efforts will guarantee the sale of at least 100,000 tons of credits over the next three years. Here’s how it will work. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience / Also tagged agricultural carbon markets, agricultural offset projects, arkansas, BlueSource, california, cap and trade, carbon credits, carbon markets, Carbon Offsets, CIG grant, ClimeCo, conservation, conservation innovation grant, Encourage Capital, grasslands protocol, investment, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Partnerships, private capital, purchase agreement, USDA NRCS, Working Lands Investment Fund | Comments are closed

Farmers are helping to heal the Chesapeake Bay, but they can’t do it alone

By Callie Eideberg / Bio / Published: September 22, 2016

Callie Eideberg, EDF’s new senior policy manager for sustainable agriculture.

We often hear about the deep-rooted water quality challenges in the Chesapeake Bay, and how not enough progress is being made. While agriculture, urban/suburban runoff, vehicle emissions, and other sources share responsibility for the bay’s poor health, all too often farmers shoulder most of the blame.

Earlier this month, USDA released the Chesapeake Bay Progress Report, which revealed that since 2009, federal investments helped area farmers implement nearly $1 billion worth of conservation practices on more than 3.5 million acres and install nearly 3,500 miles of riparian buffers that reduce nutrient runoff into waterways. Between 2006 and 2011, farmer efforts reduced sediment loss by 15.1 million tons per year.

This is encouraging news, and part of the reason the overall health of the bay is improving. Supporting farmers and their livelihoods is key to solving the watershed’s environmental challenges. As the report notes, “a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector is critical to restoring the bay.”

There is still a lot of work to do. Because a significant increase in public funding is unlikely, relying too heavily on federal investment in voluntary conservation programs is not a good pathway to fully heal the bay.

Here are two ways that agriculture can further accelerate improvements in the watershed. Read More »

Posted in Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Campbell Soup, Chesapeake Bay, conservation, ecosystems, farm bill, farmers, farming, fertilizer, Kellogg, Land O'Lakes, NRCS, nutrient loading, Partnerships, Smithfield, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Unilever, Walmart, water quality | Read 1 Response

Got grasslands? How to get paid for keeping them intact.

By Rebecca Haynes / Twitter profile / Published: August 30, 2016

Heartland Ranch in Colorado. Credit: Nicole Rosmarino

One year ago this month the Climate Action Reserve, the premier carbon offset registry for the North American carbon market, approved the voluntary grasslands protocol: a landmark opportunity for ranchers to get paid for keeping their land as grazing lands, versus converting it to crops.

And now, the protocol is underway. Today, the Reserve officially listed the first two grassland conservation carbon projects– the first step in the process towards generating carbon credits for landowners.

The Southern Plains Land Trust, directed by Nicole Rosmarino, enrolled more than 15,000 acres in Southeastern Colorado in the first two projects. She plans to enroll 7,600 more acres in an additional project in 2017.

Even though ranchers lose the opportunity to convert land for crop production, the protocol provides landowners with a guaranteed revenue source in addition to what they earn ranching on the land. Nicole will work with a project developer to monitor and report on the status of the Southern Plains Land Trust’s grasslands. We expect they’ll start earning credits in early 2017 that can later be sold on the North American carbon market.

Here’s why you can get paid for protecting grasslands, too. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, carbon market, climate action reserve, climate change, colorado, conservation, croplands, dust bowl, farming, farms, fertilizer, grasslands, grasslands protocol, grazing, grazing lands, Great Plains, ranchers, Southern Plains Land Trust, sustainable agriculture, USDA NRCS | Comments are closed

What would it take for a Nebraska corn farmer to grow milkweed for monarch butterflies?

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: August 25, 2016

EDF is working to develop the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange to engage the agricultural community in the fight against extinction.

Virtually every farmer and rancher in America has room for conservation on their land. But deciding whether or not to enroll acres in a conservation program requires just as much business sense as deciding which crops to grow on other acres. It’s a matter of cost and return on investment.

My team and I traveled to Nebraska earlier this month to meet with a few corn and soybean farmers to get a sense of what the costs and benefits might be of dedicating some acres – namely marginal lands with low crop productivity, as well as roadsides and field edges – to growing milkweed habitat for the monarch butterfly. What we found was that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agriculture, conservation, corn farming, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, habitat exchange, monarch butterfly, Nebraska, NRCS, Pheasants Forever, wetlands reserve program, wildlife | Read 3 Responses

Breaking through ag’s glass ceiling

By Taryn Silver / Published: August 2, 2016

Woman on a ranch Nearly one-third of U.S. farmers are women, yet their contributions aren’t well known. The Rise of Women Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture, a new book from the University of Iowa press, aims to change this.

Women are diversifying agriculture – not only demographically, but also in terms of production practices. Within the next two decades, they “may own 75 percent of transferred farmland” according to the American Farmland Trust, with enormous implications for American agriculture. From innovative business models to a deep focus on stewardship, women are changing the face – and future – of farming.

As their numbers grow, women farmers are finding and building support networks. Last year, for example, the USDA’s Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced the creation of the Women in Agriculture Mentoring Network. The book argues that more needs to be done to unlock the full promise of these new farmers.

Dr. Carolyn Sachs, a professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is the lead author of the book. I sat down to discuss the agricultural transformations underway, how to create opportunities for new farmers and the implications for land stewardship.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, College of Agricultural Sciences, Community Supported Agriculture, conservation, CSA, farmer networks, farmers, female, food production, food system, land stewardship, Penn State, ranchers, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Women, women in agriculture, women in farming | Comments are closed

Controlled drainage is the new black

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 13, 2016

Dr. Mohamed Youssef demonstrates the benefits of controlled drainage.

NC State University’s agriculture water management expert Mohamed Youssef, Ph.D, believes the time is ripe for controlled drainage to make a comeback.

Controlled drainage is one of the most effective ways to minimize nitrogen loss from croplands. It’s a management practice involving the use of a control structure installed at the outlet of a drainage ditch or subsurface drain to regulate drainage water outflow according to plant needs and field operations.

“A controlled drainage system can remove between 40 and 60 percent of the nitrogen present in runoff, if used at a large scale. These systems hold huge potential to reduce pollution from very large flows of water runoff,” Youssef explained during my recent visit to NC State’s demonstration farms in eastern North Carolina.

Despite the promise, adoption rates for this practice remain very low, in part because of functionality problems with the first controlled drainage structures. But thanks to new advances in the technology that I recently viewed in the field, adoption rates are rising.

Like any filter practice, controlled drainage is just one tool that can help solve regional water quality problems. It’s not a silver bullet, especially with some geographic limitations since they can be used only on low-sloping fields. While there is no perfect solution to stop farm runoff, after seeing drainage systems first-hand, I too believe we’re nearing a tipping point for widespread adoption of controlled drainage in agriculture – and big environmental benefits. Here’s the story. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged agriculture, controlled drainage, cover crops, environmental defense fund, farm, farming, fertilizer, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer management, irrigation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NC State, new technology, nitrogen, nitrogen surplus, North Carolina, nutrient management, runoff, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, water pollution, water quality | Read 1 Response

Want to bring ag sustainability to scale? Collaboration, not confrontation.

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 11, 2016

One year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced 10 “building blocks” for climate-smart agriculture and forestry, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 120 million metric tons by 2025.

The agency’s focus on partnering with farmers and ranchers – as well as with the private sector – was a huge step in the right direction toward widespread implementation of climate-smart agriculture techniques and programs.

Tomorrow, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce another big investment in conservation stewardship and climate-smart agriculture approaches to advance the building blocks agenda. I’ll be joining Secretary Vilsack to talk about EDF’s partnerships within the agricultural supply chain and our collaborative approach to ag sustainability.

Working across public-private sector lines, through a collaborative approach, and with the entire ag supply chain is the only way to bring sustainability to scale while protecting farmers’ livelihoods.

Here’s what key sectors of the ag supply chain are doing – and can do – to improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase agricultural resilience. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, Supply Chain / Also tagged agriculture, Campbell's Soup, Carbon Offsets, climate change, conservation, corn, cover crops, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, fertilizer, Field to Market, food production, food security, General Mills, Kellogg's, nitrogen, nutrient efficiency, Partnerships, Smithfield Foods, soil health, SUSTAIN, sustainable agriculture, Unilever, United Suppliers, Walmart | Comments are closed

The science behind agricultural carbon markets

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 5, 2016

Dry seeding rice reduces early season methane emissions.

There’s been a lot of recent attention on the California Air Resources Board’s (ARB) rice protocol, the first ever carbon offset protocol for crop agriculture in a compliance market.

The protocol, approved in June 2015, allows rice farmers who reduce methane emissions to become eligible for carbon credits through California’s cap-and-trade program, though growers from any rice-growing state can participate. The momentum is building. In less than one year, rice growers on more than 22,000 acres have expressed interest in the protocol – representing nearly 1 percent of all rice grown in the U.S.

When the first credits become available for purchase this summer, policymakers and regulated companies can have confidence in the rice protocol’s ability to improve climate stability, and growers can earn extra revenue, thanks to the sound science that measures emissions reductions. Here’s a primer. Read More »

Posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience / Also tagged agricultural offset protocol, agricultural research, arkansas, california, California Air Resources Board, carbon credit, carbon market, carbon offset, conservation, dry seeding, ecosystems, emissions, fertilizer, field studies, fossil fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions, methane, rice, rice cultivation, soil methane, sustainable agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, water consumption | Comments are closed