The produce industry discusses how to capitalize on climate-smart commodities; Carbon markets evolve to boost participation, General Mills Invests $3 million in sustainable sourcing; Virtual fencing and more
| | | | | | | | | What Can We Learn From The Specialty Crop Industry? | | | Specialty crops often get short shrift on the mainstage of U.S. agriculture sustainability. This is partly because the sector has so many different production systems, growing regions and markets that it is difficult to have meaningful conversations about the future of regenerative farming that encapsulate all fruits and vegetables. Climate-smart standards will likely need to be focused on individual commodities that reflect the diversity of operations. Earlier this month, Trust In Food participated in Farm Journal’s Sustainable Produce Summit in California. As you’ll discover in this week’s newsletter, the conversation quickly turned to the potential of dedicated research into climate-smart specialty crop production, consumer demands and the need for commodity groups to engage third parties to quantify sustainable practices. Dialogue about carbon markets and ecosystem services also continues to mature. In our second featured post today, Editor Margy Eckelkamp of The Scoop illustrates how the marketplace, almost in its entirety and all at once, is reexamining strategies to engage more producers in more places. Trust In Food will have more on this topics in the weeks ahead with our upcoming carbon report—for now, you can get a preview here. Whether your organization supports commercial growers or you actively farm, remember this month that every segment of agriculture has strengths that we all can learn from and transfer to the unique environments in which we work. And we’ve only started seeing the incredible possibilities climate-smart agriculture could hold for some of the country’s largest segments. Until next week,
Nate Birt
Vice President, Trust In Food™ | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | How Climate-Smart Commodities Will Drive Sustainable Produce | | | | By David Frabotta, manager of climate-smart ag interactive programming, Trust In Food: How will the government’s $1 billion infusion influence how growers operate? Could it drive premium markets for climate-smart produce? Learn what infrastructure needs to develop from Rob Gibson of Certis Biologicals and Tom Stenzel of The Stenzel Group. They spoke on the topic June 2 during The Packer’s panel discussion “Climate-Smart Ag Initiatives: Commodity Markets for a Sustainable Future” at the Sustainable Produce Summit. | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | Growing Pains: Companies Focus On Creating A Carbon Market Foundation | | | By Margy Eckelkamp, editor, The Scoop: More than a dozen opportunities exist for farmers to be compensated for change practices that lead to carbon sequestration or a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. While companies have big aspirations for carbon programs, they are simultaneously recognizing changes that need to be made to increase participation. Here's how simplified parameters could make programs more accessible, plus insights about farmer sentiment from Trust In Food's recent preview summary of the forthcoming report "Ag Carbon Markets and U.S. Farmers."
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| | | | | | General Mills Invests $3 Million To Scale Eco-Harvest By Ecosystem Services Market Consortium | | Shared by Rebecca Bartels, senior director of strategic partnerships, Trust In Food: General Mills and Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) announced a multi-year roadmap to scale Eco-Harvest. The roadmap focuses on priority regions in the U.S. and Canada where General Mills sources its key ingredients, like wheat, oat, corn and dairy. The initial $3 million investment from General Mills includes an ESMC grant to support the launch and development of Eco-Harvest, a voluntary market program that generates and sells credits for increased soil carbon, reduced greenhouse gases and improved water quality. | | Read More |
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| | Virtual Fencing: A Climate Adaptation Strategy | | Shared by Ryan Heiniger, director of America's Conservation Ag Movement, Trust In Food: Virtual fencing, a relatively new technology, allows ranchers to control livestock distribution in rangeland landscapes without physical fences. Livestock wear collars that communicate with GPS and reception towers to form a virtual fence set by the rancher or land manager. This USDA blog post details how virtual fencing could prove to be an effective climate adaptation strategy, as it can be used to contain animals within a desired area, exclude them from undesired areas, or move them across the landscape. | | Read More |
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| | Community’s Role In Spreading Conservation | | Shared by Ryan Heiniger, director of America's Conservation Ag Movement, Trust In Food: Conservation-minded Iowa farmer Rob Stout organizes a local, farmer-led initiative directed at improving the waterways of Washington County and reducing nutrients downstream. This watershed initiative at the Middle West Fork of Crooked Creek is an ideal example of the environmental action farmers can enact in unison to preserve shared resources. Read why Stouts says, “It’s just the right thing to do.” | | Read More |
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