St. Louis, Missouri
December 8, 2008
New initiative focuses
on water quality improvement in the Mississippi River Basin
and Gulf of Mexico.
Monsanto's new partners commit to sharing best
conservation practices and joining in dialogue with other
conservation groups, agriculture groups, government leaders
as well as other parties interested in working with farmers
to preserve water quality and conserve wildlife habitat
along the river and its tributaries.
A new initiative announced today
aims to reduce nutrient and sediment movement into the United
States' largest river system, the Mississippi River.
Monsanto is partnering
with multiple agricultural and conservation groups that are
working with farmers to help reduce runoff from the Mississippi
River into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Nature Conservancy, the
Iowa Soybean Association
and Delta Wildlife
are all working collaboratively with farmers to remove nutrients
and sediment from agricultural runoff in the Mississippi River
Basin. The National Audubon
Society is working with homeowners and others to implement
measures which can improve wildlife habitat and the quality of
water entering the Mississippi River. The new initiative by
Monsanto will advance the group's work and help determine the
effectiveness of various conservation measures on improving
wildlife habitat and water quality.
"The Mississippi River is an ecological treasure and an economic
powerhouse," said Michael Reuter, who oversees The Nature
Conservancy's Great Rivers Partnership, which was created to
help advance conservation of the world's major river systems,
including the Mississippi. "This new effort by Monsanto will
help show how we can make farming and conservation in the
Mississippi River Basin more compatible so that nature and
people alike benefit from improved water quality and enhanced
wildlife habitat."
"We're proud to work on this bold conservation initiative which
we believe offers a sustainable vision for agricultural
landscapes wherein farmers can support our world's growing needs
for food, fiber and fuel in ways that not only preserve water
quality, but also support diverse and abundant wildlife
populations," said Jerry Steiner, executive vice president at
Monsanto. "We believe this initiative can serve as an important
stepping stone toward the goal of preserving natural resources
and wildlife in the Mississippi River Basin for future
generations."
"Farmers are emerging in key leadership roles through their
investments, and by participating in the planning and
implementation of practices that perform environmentally. It's
our goal to support them and help them make meaningful
progress," said Roger Wolf, Director of Environmental Programs
at the Iowa Soybean Association. "Our goal is to use science --
research and data -- to systematically develop and implement a
suite of management techniques that help production agriculture
measurably improve stewardship while maintaining or increasing
profitability."
"Delta Wildlife is pleased to join forces with Monsanto, The
Nature Conservancy, and the Iowa Soybean Association to
implement a large-scale project that will improve water quality
in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico," stated Bobby
Carson, Chairman of the Delta Wildlife Board of Directors.
"While significant environmental benefits will certainly accrue
from this project, it will also nurture a more sustainable and
profitable future for agriculture."
"Audubon is pleased to be part of this effort to foster a
sustainable Mississippi River watershed for people and
wildlife," said Roger Still, Vice President of Audubon's
Mississippi River Initiative. "We are committed to engaging
individuals to take action in their own lives to help address
the water quality and habitat issues in the watershed. This
effort complements our broader Mississippi River Initiative."
Under The Projects
* The Nature Conservancy will conduct a three-year conservation
pilot in four watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin
that include the Root River in southeastern Minnesota, the
Pecatonica River in southern Wisconsin, the Boone River in
northern Iowa and the Mackinaw River in central Illinois.
The Conservancy will work with local partners, including
farmers, in those watersheds to implement and study conservation
techniques that best lower nutrient and sediment concentrations
by reducing runoff from agricultural landscapes. Through this
project, the Conservancy will seek to determine which tools work
best in a larger, sub-watershed system and will then communicate
findings to crop producers to guide their farm stewardship
decisions.
* The Iowa Soybean Association will conduct research on paired,
micro watersheds in two areas: the Boone and Raccoon Rivers. The
group will also coordinate conservation outreach in those
watersheds, which includes monitoring, measurement and
evaluation of on-farm resources and environmental outcomes.
* Delta Wildlife will install Best Management Practices (BMPs)
on approximately 1,000 sites on working farms in the
Yazoo-Mississippi Delta region of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
BMPs will be designed to reduce off-site movement of nutrients
and sediments while providing secondary environmental benefits
in the form of improved fish and wildlife habitat and water
conservation. The project will include a monitoring and
assessment component that will thoroughly document accrued
environmental benefits.
* Data collected from all projects will be reported on annually
and is expected to generate novel approaches which can be
implemented more broadly across rural landscapes. Crop producers
will be directly involved in the respective projects. Findings
from all projects will be shared with farmers regularly so that
they can observe and adapt cultural practices that preserve
water quality and improve wildlife habitat.
* Audubon will raise awareness of how people can be good
stewards of nature in their own backyards. The project will
focus on promoting specific individual actions to enhance water
quality and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Audubon will
broadly communicate these best practices throughout the
Mississippi River watershed.
* Monsanto will commit more than $5 million to support all of
the projects. Monsanto will also work actively with all the four
groups to share data generated from all projects with its farmer
customers. The company will also encourage on-farm adoption of
management practices that contribute to water quality.
Partners Remain Committed to Broader Dialogue, Working with
Other Experts Along River
The projects, announced today, are expected in the near term to
offer to the agricultural community a comprehensive approach to
improving the health of the Mississippi River. They are also
expected to generate best practices that may be integrated into
management plans designed to conserve major river systems around
the world.
Monsanto and its conservation partners, along with grower
associations including the American Soybean Association and the
National Corn Growers Association also announced that they will
be forming a Mississippi River Farm Nutrient Working Group. The
group expects to engage other agricultural-related interests,
government leaders and other interested organizations in this
group. Additional information on this group will be announced in
spring 2009.
The group is expected to engage additional experts in an effort
to share findings and best practices, raise awareness and
broaden restoration efforts along the Mississippi River. The
Working Group will also discuss what might be needed to help
farmers implement stewardship projects at a higher rate, and see
what can be done to provide incentives or enabling policies to
assist them in doing this.
A New Vision for Agricultural Landscapes
This bold conservation initiative offers a new vision for the
Mississippi River and agricultural landscapes by which farmers
can efficiently produce higher-yielding crops for food, fiber
and fuel in ways that further preserve water quality as well as
support diverse and abundant wildlife populations.
Over the years, crop producers have implemented cultural
practices that reduce erosion, runoff and sedimentation into our
nation's rivers and streams. These common on-farm stewardship
practices include conservation tillage, no- till, filter strips
and water control structures. Improved placement of fertilizers
and precision application of fertilizers and agri-chemicals are
additional, market-driven best management practices that
contribute to improved water quality in agricultural ecosystems.
Additionally, on-farm tools available to farmers today, such as,
herbicide-tolerant crops are supporting the conversion of
farmland to no-till practices which greatly reduce erosion and
the emission of greenhouse gas into our environment.
In the future, crop producers are expected to have additional
on-farm tools which can enhance their environmental stewardship
efforts.
Agricultural technology providers, such as Monsanto, are working
to develop nitrogen-use efficiency technologies and crop
products that yield more on each acre of land. Earlier this
year, the company announced its commitment to develop, by 2030,
certain seeds that can double crop yields and reduce by
one-third the amount of key resources, e.g., nitrogen and water,
required to grow crops.
About the Partners
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation
organization working to protect the most ecologically important
lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To
date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have
been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million
acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than
102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the
Pacific. The Mississippi River has been designated a global
priority by The Nature Conservancy as part of its Campaign for a
Sustainable Planet to protect lands and waters in the United
States and around the world for future generations. The
Conservancy's goal is to help protect at least 10 percent of
each of the world's major habitat types -- forests, oceans,
rivers and lakes, grasslands, and deserts and dry lands -- by
the year 2015. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at
http://www.nature.org.
The Iowa Soybean Association develops policies and programs that
help farmers expand profit opportunities while promoting
environmentally sensitive production using the soybean checkoff
and other resources. The Association is governed by an elected
volunteer board of 21 farmers. To learn more about our
association, please visit:
http://www.iasoybeans.com.
Delta Wildlife was founded in 1990 for the specific purpose of
conserving, enhancing and restoring native wildlife habitats,
wildlife populations and natural resources found in the
Yazoo-Mississippi Delta region of Northwest Mississippi. With a
membership base that owns and manages more than 60 percent of
all the land in the region, the organization has found success
through the development and implementation of science-based
projects and programs, targeted education and outreach, and by
demonstrating the highest possible level of accountability to
organizational members and professional peers. To learn more
about Delta Wildlife and its programs and projects, please visit
their website at
http://www.deltawildlife.org.
Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds,
nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national
network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific,
education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from
all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore
the natural world. Our Mississippi River Initiative, spanning
the river's entire watershed, is focused on protecting and
enhancing declining birds and their habitats; reducing excess
nutrients to improve water quality; and restoring natural
hydrology to sustain important river functions and reduce the
loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. Our actions are
coordinated at hemispheric, national, regional and local scales.
To learn more about Audubon, and its efforts to protect the
Mississippi, please visit:
http://www.audubon.org.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains
focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to
produce more from their land while conserving more of our
world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn
more about our business and our commitments, please visit:
http://www.monsanto.com.
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