| | | | | | | Why Connected Ag Will Be Key For The Future Of Regenerative Food Systems | | | Trust can't be bought. It's earned. That old adage seems especially applicable in light of the insights farmers shared as part of Trust In Food's new report out this week titled, "Farmer Perspectives On Data 2021". Conducted in partnership with The Sustainability Consortium, the report underscores that learning about field-level decisions producers make remains especially challenging, not least because farmers are uncomfortable swinging the farm gate wide open.
Sixty-five percent of farmers, for example, reported their customer doesn't have a right to know how their specific farm products were produced. That held true whether or not the producer reported using farm management software. Yet strikingly, one category of businesses appears to have won farmers' trust: financial institutions. More than 70% of farmers reported trusting such institutions with their data.
As my colleague Drew Slattery, one of the report's lead researchers, notes: "There could be lessons to be taken from the financial sector and applied to production data governance, privacy and use issues. Farmers (typically and historically) trust their bankers – lessons from that relationship could apply elsewhere." For anyone even slightly interested in issues of conservation, connected ag and the future of sustainable food systems, I encourage you to check out this report. It seems increasingly apparent that data and transparency will yield a more connected, more responsive food system -- though plenty of ongoing trust-building with farmers will be needed to realize the full potential of such a future. I hope you'll drop me a line and let me know what you took away from the data -- and how we might use it to help producers going forward. Until next week,
Nate Birt
Vice President
Trust In Food, a Farm Journal initiative
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| | | | | | | Bridging Ag’s Digital Divide | | | Shared by Drew Slattery, human dimensions of change lead, Trust In Food: Increased data collection plays a critical role in addressing the challenges we face in building a more sustainable and resilient American agriculture. Each spring, Trust In Food in partnership with The Sustainability Consortium surveys American row-crop farmers, to hear directly from them on where they stand around data collection and sharing issues – the perspectives they hold, challenges they face, and pathways forward they see. Here are a few key insights from our 2021 report.
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| | | | | | | Inside Farm Journal's Latest Conservation Ag Issue | | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: Each year as part of America's Conservation Ag Movement, our colleagues at Farm Journal spotlight the latest trends in conservation ag for farmers. The latest edition spotlights stories of producers finding success with stewardship, including for their bottom line and for the future of their family business. Learn how farmers are thinking about carbon markets, ecosystem services and more by checking out the conservation ag issue.
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| | Shared by Ethan White, manager of farmer outreach and engagement, Trust In Food: Farm to table is so last year, as this article from Fast Company illustrates. More and more global brands are exploring the possibilities of farm to closet. “We’re not just interested in doing less harm; we’re focused on trying to do good," explains Patagonia's Helena Barbour, vice president of global sportswear.
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| | Shared by Drew Slattery, human dimensions of change lead, Trust In Food: This grazing spotlight is yet another sign that regenerative in all its forms is becoming increasingly mainstream.
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| | Shared by Kinsie Rayburn, conservation knowledge officer, Trust In Food: In this article, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack underscores that farmers will be an important pillar of the White House vision for a more sustainable America. “Encouraging regenerative agriculture and climate smart farming, and making new technology more accessible to farmers are key priorities for the Biden-Harris administration," Vilsack says.
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