Nashville, Tennessee
February 29, 2008
Index will give growers tool to
evaluate their operation
Growers, conservation organizations and companies throughout the
ag supply chain have teamed up to launch a first-of-its-kind
working group focused on creating sustainable outcomes for
agriculture, the group reported in a press conference during
Commodity Classic.
“Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to consumers
as they make their food choices,” said Sarah Stokes Alexander,
director of sustainability and leadership programs for The
Keystone Center, the non-profit group facilitating the
initiative. “By creating this coalition, participants throughout
the food supply chain are demonstrating their ongoing commitment
to increasing productivity to meet future food and fiber needs
while decreasing impacts on the environment.”
The group’s initial focus will be creating a sustainability
index to measure and track the impact of agriculture in terms of
environment and natural resource sustainability. This prototype
index will analyze and report use of land, water, energy,
greenhouse gas emissions and crop production inputs in four key
commodity crops – corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat.
“Continued improvements in efficient land use will be critical
if we’re going to meet the ever growing demand for food and
fiber without putting more pressure on our environmental
resources,” said Jason Clay for World Wildlife Fund.
Nearly all crops have experienced gains in terms of energy use
and efficiency. According to John Hoffman, president of the
American Soybean Association and farmer from Waterloo, Iowa,
“Soybeans have witnessed long-term, sustained growth, while corn
and cotton have also seen gains over the past 10 years. New
technologies and better plant genetics have helped us increase
yields and reduce trips over the field for tillage, weed and
insect control.”
Agriculture has a good sustainability story to tell, but also
must continue to improve. The group is piloting a grower
sustainability tool this spring that can help growers evaluate
their individual operation against the industry-wide index. The
tool will also provide a library of information to assist
growers in further improving their sustainability practices.
“Farmers have always considered themselves environmental
stewards and have substantially improved production practices
and efficiencies over the years,” said Ron Litterer, president
of the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA). “Moving forward, growers must do even
more to lead sustainable change in our food production for the
benefit of future generations.”
This new index will help growers quantify and demonstrate their
care for the environment, as well as share best practices. The
grower sustainability tool will also be constructed to maintain
individual confidentiality. These efforts are designed to
document accelerated improvements throughout the food and fiber
production system.
“This initiative is also important to food companies and
retailers who are beginning to document the footprint of their
production and operations,” said Jeffrey Barach, vice president
and director of the Center for Technical & Laboratory Services
for the Grocery Manufacturers Association. “Together we can
deliver better decision making throughout the supply chain and
help meet the goal of a more sustainable food and fiber
production system.”
An initial report is expected to be released this summer and
will serve as a roadmap for growers to track their own progress.
Future reports will expand to look at economic and social
measures of agriculture sustainability in the context of meeting
global food and fiber demands.
The National Corn Growers Association’s mission is to create
and increase opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents
more than 33,000 members and 48 affiliated state organizations
and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute to state
checkoff programs. For more information on NCGA, log on to
www.ncga.com. |
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