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January 25, 2023
 
 
 
 
Keep Up The Climate-Smart Momentum This Winter
 

I’m so pleased to report that this week, we wrapped up an incredible sixth annual Trust In Food Symposium in Nashville. Our team along with approximately 120 sustainable agriculture leaders spent quality time together hearing updates from the front lines of climate-smart agriculture, considering challenges and opportunities ahead, and exploring more ways to collaborate in a way that helps farmers and ranchers succeed.

I encourage you to read the climate-smart Top Producer farmer panel recap authored by my colleague Rhonda Brooks and featured in this newsletter. These producers shared that while they haven't yet seen the carbon market opportunity, they're nonetheless energized by climate-smart innovations in agriculture and eager to try new things. That's an encouraging note for anyone working in this important space.

There are several universal truths about meetings such as this one: They’re never long enough to cover all the topics you’d like, to the depth you’d prefer. Everyone wants practical insights to take home. But more than that, they want real action to follow.

That’s where you and I come in. Advancing the big mission of scaling climate-smart agriculture requires a big cross-functional team. Even the small steps can add up over time.

As Chief Terry Cosby of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service told the Symposium audience this week: “We have a once in a lifetime opportunity and it is going to take all of us.” (Thanks to Trust In Beef partner Samantha Werth, executive director of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and senior director of sustainability at NCBA, for capturing this quote and sharing it on LinkedIn!)

Events such as the Trust In Food Symposium are wonderful because they bring us together, encourage us, feed our curiosity—and challenge us to get better at what we do. They remind us of the people we’re serving through our collective efforts, the farmers and ranchers whose natural resource stewardship creates resilient businesses and communities.

Whether you joined us at Symposium this week (and if so: thank you!), have invested your time in other events or both, use this moment as an opportunity to reflect. What have you learned? Where are you and your team going? What’s one thing you could apply – based on what you’ve heard recently – to get closer to the ambitious climate-smart goals you’ve set?

Take that step now. Enjoy the journey.

Yours in regenerative ag,
Amy Skoczlas Cole
President, Trust In Food™
 
 
 
 
Farmer Panel: Climate-Smart Program Rewards Must Outweigh Risks To Earn Grower Participation
 
By Rhonda Brooks, Content Projects Manager, Farm Journal: Three large-farm producers who spoke on a panel at this week's 2023 Trust In Food Symposium in Nashville haven't signed up for a single carbon market. Mostly, they see too many financial risks and too few rewards. Yet they're excited by climate-smart acceleration in other parts of agriculture, including sprayer technology that reduces input needs and the rise of biologicals. 
 
 
 
 
Indiana Farmers Seek Soil Health Learnings During Perkins’ Good Earth Farm Visit
 
By David Frabotta, director of climate-smart content, Trust In Food: Cover crops and mulching are among the practices Indiana farmers and conservationists viewed during a recent Indiana farmer event in partnership with America’s Conservation Ag Movement (ACAM). Kevin Allison of Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District shares his experience and previews an upcoming tour in Kentucky where farmers will get more helpful insights.
 
 
 
 

News We’re Following
 

New Report Calls for Advancing Equity in Agriculture for the 2023 Farm Bill (via Farm Bill Law Enterprise)

By Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: Priority policies in the next farm bill should create greater equity for historically underserved producers, according to a new report from Farm Bill Law Enterprise (h/t Food Tank). That could look like new initiatives to help people reclaim heirs’ property, tax exclusions to ease land transfers and improved access to loans, the report states.
 
 

Sustainable Beef's Unique Business Model May Ensure Success: First Time Entire Supply Chain Involved in Beef Production (via AgWeb)

By Michelle Rook, national reporter, AgDay TV: Attention to top-shelf cattle genetics and carbon footprint are driving innovation at rancher-driven Sustainable Beef LLC. Walmart is the company’s retail partner and a minority investor. “These bulls, our feedlot and our packing plant and the Walmart distribution center are all within 15 miles of each other,” explains cattle producer and Sustainable Beef LLC co-founder Trey Wasserburger in this video interview with Farm Journal’s AgDay TV.
 
 

Regenerative Agriculture Is Shifting Paradigms For Coffee Farmers In The Philippines (via Nestle Philippines at National Geographic)

By Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: Depletion of soil nutrients and high overhead costs challenge coffee farmers in the Philippines. That's why Nestle has invested in their transition to regenerative agriculture systems. “For farmers, it’s a source of hope, for consumers coffee is life,” explains Ruth P. Novales of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Take a look at these breathtaking photos to discover how coffee farming is becoming more resilient in the Philippines.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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