National Corn Growers Association, Environmental Defense Fund Partner to Improve Environment while Growing Profits

November 15, 2018

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(Wallaces Farmer) Environmental Defense Fund and National Corn Growers Association will engage in continuous improvements for water quality while strengthening yields -- The Environmental Defense Fund and the National Corn Growers Association have partnered to improve environmental outcomes while optimizing productivity and profitability.

“Many practices that increase soil health and water quality also boost farmers’ bottom lines,” said Suzy Friedman, senior director of agricultural sustainability at EDF. “EDF and NCGA have worked together for many years to align economic incentives and environmental outcomes. Formalizing our partnership was a natural next step to accelerate progress toward our shared goals.”

“The public expects greater stewardship and transparency from farmers, and it’s critical for the agricultural sector to show leadership on conservation,” said Nathan Fields, vice president of production and sustainability at NCGA. “EDF and NCGA are stronger together. We have different expertise and perspectives, and combining them is a real opportunity.”

The partnership will elevate the importance of continuous improvements for water quality and climate resilience, while strengthening yields and profitability. Priority work streams include:

Data and measurement to improve tracking of water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, and scale user-friendly technology solutions for data reporting and analysis.
On-farm engagement to increase farmer and agronomist knowledge about innovative conservation tools and practices.
Policy advocacy to support voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs with measurable environmental outcomes.
Finance and economics to explore and grow opportunities for farmers to benefit economically from conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage.
Outreach and communications to build bridges between farmers and consumers.
Agricultural and environmental communities celebrated this unexpected partnership.

“Farming is a tough business with tight margins. Stewardship has always been a way of life for us, but we also have to stay profitable and productive. EDF was the first environmental group to reach out to farmers and listen to our perspectives. I’m excited to see what EDF and NCGA can accomplish together,” said Brandon Hunnicutt, Nebraska farmer and member of NCGA’s Corn Board. READ MORE

Corn Growers Partner With Environmental Defense Fund (AgWired.com; includes AUDIO)

Excerpt from AgWired.com: The partnership will work on gathering data for tracking of water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, and developing user-friendly technology solutions for data reporting and analysis. It will also include on-farm engagement to increase knowledge about innovative conservation tools and practices, policy advocacy to support voluntary conservation programs with measurable outcomes, and finding ways for farmers to benefit economically from conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage.

The Soil Health Partnership, an NCGA initiative, has been working on making agriculture more productive and sustainable through improved soil health since it was started in 2015. Iowa farmer and NCGA First Vice President Kevin Ross was among the first to enroll in the program, which has been gathering data from more than 100 working farms enrolled in 12 states on progressive farm management practices such as cover crop usage to determine both economic and environmental sustainability.

In this interview from NAFB Trade Talk last week, Ross talks about the Soil Health Partnership 4th annual summit, January 15 – 16 in St. Louis, which is open to all growers and agronomists for the first time. He also talks about the new agreement between NCGA, United Soybean Board, and National Pork Board for sustainability research. READ MORE