| | | | | | | | | This Earth Day, Commit To A Farm Visit | | | Let’s keep this week’s post brief and to the point in honor of Earth Day, which takes place Friday, and give you back some time to go into nature and remember why we’re doing our jobs in regenerative ag in the first place. This year’s Earth Day theme, Invest In Our Planet, is appropriate for those of us who wake up every day thinking about how to help farmers — and future generations — win with climate-smart systems. One of the first things I learned upon joining Farm Journal nearly a decade ago is our passion for rolling up our sleeves quickly — I got a writing assignment my very first day! — and getting onto farms rapidly to understand the point at which farming theory meets farming reality. Nothing changes your perspective and helps you better appreciate agriculture than spending time with farmers whose livelihoods, families and communities depend upon it. In today’s edition, you’ll hear firsthand from rice farmer Steve McKaskle, who spoke at this year’s Trust In Food Symposium. Steve is one of those “Come and see what we’re doing and how it’s working for us” kind of people. So many farmers I’ve met over the years are humble yet proud of their investments in their businesses and in nature — and it’s paying real dividends, both financial and environmental. You’ll also discover that farmers are actively seeking new insights on topics such as the impact of inputs on soil health, as shared by our colleagues and partners at the Soil Health Institute. Then in this week’s news highlights, you’ll learn about leaders advancing the regenerative ag system, as evidenced by the appointment of our colleague, collaborator and friend Dr. Christy Slay of The Sustainability Consortium to the role of CEO. For these reasons and many more, take stock of what you’re doing — and what our industry is doing — to create a brighter future for regenerative ag in the U.S. This Earth Day, it matters more than ever. Until next week,
Nate Birt
Vice President, Trust In Food™ | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | New Survey Assesses Farmer Interest In How Inputs Impact Soil Health | | | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: As more farmers invest to improve the health of their soils, questions arise about how agricultural inputs impact soil health. To assess the level of farmers’ interest in this topic, the Soil Health Institute partnered with Trust In Food™, Farm Journal’s sustainable ag division, to use a combination of survey questions, analysis of published content, and tracking of farmers’ engagement with articles on the topic posted to AgWeb. The survey, sent to 10,000 U.S. farmers, revealed 66% of respondents showed interest in understanding more about the topic. | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | Shared by Ryan Heiniger, director of America's Conservation Ag Movement, Trust In Food: In an urgent reminder for those of us who work to further the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, a new study published in the journal Earth’s Future found topsoil in the Midwest is eroding on average almost 2 millimeters each year. Modern erosion rates have slowed, but emerging food production needs and pressures on yields make it critical to preserve every bit of topsoil remaining on farms. | | |
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| | | Shared by David Frabotta, manager of climate-smart ag interactive programming, Trust In Food: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, also known as the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus, included several wins for sustainable agriculture, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). One of the biggest highlights for NSAC is the inclusion of $45 million for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, the USDA’s only competitive research program focused entirely on farmer-led sustainable agriculture research and education. The $45 million provided to SARE is a record high for the program, which is authorized at $60 million. The bill also includes $14 million for the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. | | |
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| | | Shared by Drew Slattery, manager and lead, Trust In Beef and Human Dimensions of Change: Dr. Christy Slay began with TSC in its founding year in 2009 and has held many leadership roles, including her current roles as interim CEO and vice president, science & impact. Additionally, Slay leads strategic planning for TSC and THESIS (The Sustainability Insight System), directs the technical team on THESIS content creation, led the development of TSC’s commodity mapping program, and has secured more than $3 million in grant funding, more than any TSC staff member to date. Slay has recently been published in Science and Nature Climate Change and holds adjunct faculty positions at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College Graduate School of Business and Arizona State University’s College of Integrative Science and Arts. | | |
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