| | | | | | | | | Farmers And Carbon Markets: The Path Forward | | | | Before our team at Trust In Food published its new report, “Ready or Not? Agricultural Carbon Markets and U.S. Farmers”—issued this past week to subscribers of this newsletter—we wanted outside input. Most importantly, we wanted feedback from farmers and ranchers uninvolved in the research process. After all, they are the stakeholders whose opinions and business decisions will determine the future of U.S. ag carbon markets.
We knew if anyone had the necessary standing to spot gaps and identify flaws, it would be them.
My colleague Cara Urban interviewed a range of producers and compiled their feedback in this post at TrustInFood.com. Their perspectives validated what hundreds of other U.S. farmers and ranchers told us. Yet they took it a step further, offering ideas for ways ecosystem markets might make adjustments to reach a broader cohort of farmers.
Here are just a few examples of recommendations they offered for the sustainability community’s consideration, with key concepts bolded by me for emphasis:
“Maybe there’s room for a go-between to help incentive providers really understand the farmer and landowner perspective.” -Ray Gaesser, Iowa row-crop farmer “What producers need to build that trust with environmental services markets are clear guidelines about how the benefits we provide are being measured, assurance that they are looking at the landscape and what it provides with more than just carbon in mind (as we do), and clear signals—like good prices, offerings of more than just carbon credits, and more—that they understand what we value.” -Pat O’Toole, Wyoming cattle and sheep rancher “I wish we could focus more on being “climate-smart” rather than focusing only on carbon. I think if we broadened the conversation to be broader with other ecosystem services we could include more parts of the country where cover crops can’t be used because of a lack of available water.” – Fred Yoder, Ohio row-crop farmer With 97% of surveyed farmers reporting they’re not yet ready to participate in carbon markets, there is enormous potential for public and private sectors to forge new paths for producers. Many paths already in progress might be modified to unlock the tremendous supply potential.
There’s a hopeful story in the pages of “Ready or Not? Agricultural Carbon Markets and U.S. Farmers,” and here’s the hook: Farmers are curious and capable, and they’ve demonstrated a willingness to use conservation agriculture practices. Increasingly, we hear about the benefits they’re experiencing, particularly in a drought year. Climate-smart systems can keep soil in place, make the best use of available water and mitigate risk.
How will we respond? At TIF, we’re taking a hopeful approach because we see the opportunity. We’ve identified some of the key gaps. Now, we’ve all got a collective shot at narrowing it. Together, let’s make climate-smart agriculture a natural solution to the challenges farmers face on their operations. Yours in regenerative ag,
Amy Skoczlas Cole
Executive Vice President, Trust In Food™
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| | | | | | | | Mark Your Calendar For 2023 Trust In Food Symposium | | | | By David Frabotta, director, climate-smart content, Trust In Food: Join climate-smart ag executives and other leaders Jan. 23-24, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nashville for the sixth annual Trust In Food Symposium. This event features farmer-centric insights for sustainability professionals. Speaker and topic ideas may be emailed to dfrabotta@farmjournal.com. | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | Modern Dairy Report Spotlights Sustainability Gains | | | | By Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: The sustainability progress of U.S. dairy farmers gets the spotlight in a new report titled “Environmental Benefits of Modern Dairy, Hay, and Forage Production Technologies.” Unveiled at the recent World Dairy Expo, the report comes from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), an America’s Conservation Ag Movement partner, and its collaborators. “One of our goals at AEM is to encourage the adoption of these technologies by more farmers, so they can all reap the benefits as we continue to focus on sustainability,” explains Curt Blades, senior vice president of industry sectors and product leadership at AEM. | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | Register For The 2022 Sustainable Agriculture Summit (via Field to Market) | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: Don’t miss the major annual Sustainable Agriculture Summit from Nov. 16-17 in Glendale, Ariz. Designed for sustainable agriculture professionals, the conference is convened by host partners Field to Market and Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. This year’s theme is “Meeting the Moment: Strengthening U.S. Food and Agriculture’s Capacity to Drive Change.” To learn more and to register, visit the event website. | | Read More |
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| | ForGround: Bayer’s Digital Platform Beyond Just Carbon (via AgWeb.com) | | Shared by David Frabotta, director, climate-smart content, Trust In Food: In an effort to expand into additional regenerative agriculture support for farmers, Bayer CropScience announced the launch of ForGround. The farmer-first digital platform is designed to provide tools, resources, discounts and additional revenue opportunities, according to Margy Eckelkamp, editor of The Scoop. “ForGround is a key commercial piece of how we are working to achieve our goals of reducing our customers' in-field carbon emissions in major agricultural markets by 30 percent and becoming carbon neutral in our own operations by 2030,” says Leo Bastos, head of global commercial ecosystems, Bayer CropScience. | | Read More |
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| | Can An IPA Help Improve Iowa's Water Quality? One Organization Says It Can (via CBS 2 Iowa) | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: Small grains grown in Iowa will go into a new beer from Exile Brewing Company and demonstrate the potential of those crops to improve water quality. “They put living roots in the soil and help to keep the soil in place and prevent soil erosion, and they also take up nutrients specifically nitrogen and phosphorous," says Sean McMahon, executive director of Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance. The organization will receive a percentage of proceeds to support water health in collaboration with farmers. | | Read More |
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