Field to Market: What is Sustainable Agriculture?All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology and AgricultureJune 26, 2012

Fred Luckey, Chairman, Field to Market, The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture

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The Challenges Ahead

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“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

(Brundtland Report, 1987)

EconomicDevelopment

Social Responsibility

Environmental Responsibility

Baseline and generally accepted observations and assumptions:

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Population is growing Economic growth in developing countries is happening People are moving Diets expected to improveFood production will have to increase substantially to meet demandGlobal trade must flow and grow for supply to match demandResources are not infinite, ecosystems biodiversity and the climate must be protected.

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Already at least 1 billion of the near 7 billion people on the planet malnourishedMillions are over-nourishedLocal focus and interest is a priority for mostThe World is more interconnected than everGlobal views and responses are not aligned – lack of consensusTraditional market based economic systems may, or may not solve the larger issuesInfrastructure is a problem General lack of confidence in governments to find solutionsSupply and demand in balance equal more market volatility Time is shortCollaboration must result in action, not just talk

These are global issues that have to be overcome in an environment where:

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Demand Driven by Demographics

Source: UN

Challenges for Increased Production

• Developing areas will need to increase production• Breadbasket areas like the U.S. will need to continue

to increase production• All while sustaining environmental, social, and

economic well-being

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About Field to Market

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What is Field to Market?

• A collaborative stakeholder group– Producers, agribusinesses, food and retail companies, conservation associations,

universities, and NRCS

• Identifying supply chain strategies to define, measure, and promote continuous improvement for agriculture– Addressing the challenge of increasing demand and limited resources

• Developing and piloting outcomes-based, science-based metrics and tools– Fieldprint Calculator, a free, online tool to help growers analyze their operations

and help the supply chain explain how food is produced– National Report on environmental and socioeconomic trends over time for U.S.

commodity crops

• www.fieldtomarket.org

Field to Market Membership

How We Define Sustainable Agriculture• Meeting the needs of the present while

improving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs– Increasing productivity to meet future food and

fiber demands– Improving the environment– Improving human health– Improving the social and economic well-being of

agricultural communities

Big Ideas• Engage the full supply chain

– Include producers• Focus on commodities crops

– Unique supply chains and traceability issues • Develop science- and outcomes-based measures

– Identify the key indicators for sustainability– Measure broad-scale trends and field-scale outcomes

• Scale and implement metrics for sustainability programs

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Deliverables: What We Are Doing

National indicators report:

Documentation of overall trends

Supply chain projects:

Direct engagement in continuous improvement

Grower Fieldprints: Individual

opportunities for continuous

improvement

Public data and modelsCollaboratively developed

Outcomes based

The Fieldprint Calculator: Measuring Field Level Outcomes and Identifying Opportunities for Improvement

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What is the Fieldprint Calculator?• An online education tool for row crop farmers that

indexes their agronomics and practices to a fieldprint• Helps growers evaluate their farming decisions and

compare their sustainability performance – In the areas of:

• Land use• Soil conservation• Soil carbon• Water use• Energy use• Greenhouse gas emissions• Water Quality and Biodiversity in development

– Against:• Their own fields• Their own performance over

time• County, state and national

averages

Fieldprint Calculator Start Page

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Fieldprint Calculator Summary Page

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Field to Market Calculator Pilot Projects• Demonstrate use of calculator on

the ground to test utility at the grower level and through the supply chain

• Currently 6 member-led pilots engaging farmers across geographies, crops, and supply chains

• Over approximately 300 farmers engaged

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The Fieldprint Calculator: Pilots

Pilot Feedback“I’ll tell you, I wish I had this tool when I first started my position here at the District. It’s a great way to get to know growers and local operations and to get a conversation started. I’m making more in-roads with the fieldprinting project, than I have with much of the previous outreach I’ve done. If it’s used as nothing more than an outreach tool, it’s a winner.”

– Jared Foster, Van Buren Conservation District/Paw-Paw pilot

Field to Market Pilot:Completing The Supply Chain

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Inputs Ag Production Aggregation Intermediate

ProcessingFood

Processing Distribution Consumption

SeedFertilizer

Grower

Process:• Establish a representative grower database

• 22 growers representing 35-40% of Crete corn grind (40,000 acres)• Additional participation and support of:

• National Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) • National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) • Nebraska Corn Board• University of Nebraska Extension Service

•Collect data from farm production of corn.

Objective: • Using FTM tools and resources to complete the carbon and water footprints for

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes supply chain by capturing the grower link and to collect the necessary data to raise the Fieldprint Calculator to a higher level of functionality

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Nebraska Corn Pilot: - Collaboration

Energy Use Efficiency

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Irrigation Water Use Efficiency

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0.0

50.0

100.0

150.0

200.0

250.0

300.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

7 13 19 2 20 9 10 11 15 5 3 4 8 14 17 1 6 16 22 12 18

Water Applied (left axis) Irrigated Yield per Acre (right axis)

(Inches of irrigation water) (Bushels)

Irrigated Corn Crete Nebraska, 2009

Grower ID

Irrigated Corn 2009, Crete Nebraska – Average Field Print and Grower ID No. 1

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Grower ID - 1 ScoreLand Use 89Soil Conservation 154Irrigation Water 71Energy 101Greenhouse Gases 103Soil Carbon 200

Nebraska Food Chain Pilot: Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Water Usage

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Inputs Ag Production Aggregation Intermediate

ProcessingFood

Processing Distribution Consumption

SeedFertilizer

Grower

Total 2009 Greenhouse Gas Emissions = 62,533 Short TonsTotal 2009 Water Usage = 695,913,852 Gal

4,764 Short Tons GHG 5,420,270 Gal Water

53,594 Short Tons GHG232,145,565 Gal Water

3,062 Short Tons GHG 458,348,017 Gal Water

Accelerating Better Practice Adoption

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Today Tomorrow

Oats Corn Beans Wheat Rice

SustainabilityPerformance Curve

PerformanceShift

Field To Market Pilots

But…How do we know the curve is moving?

National Indicators:

The Sustainability Story of U.S. Agriculture

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National Indicators Report

• Outcomes based• Practice/technology neutral• Transparent and credible science• On-farm production outcomes within a

grower’s controlCriteria

• Crops: corn, cotton, potatoes, rice, soybeans, and wheat (2012)

• Indicators : land use, soil use, irrigation water, energy use, green house gas emissions in socio-economic added in 2012

• Analyzed publicly available data ,1980-2011; U.S. national-scale indicators

• Peer reviewed

Data & Method

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2012 Preliminary Results*: Environmental Indicators*To be published July, 2012; do not cite or publish in advance of July 12, 2012

• All six crops demonstrated progress in resource use/impact per unit of production on all five environmental indicators. • Improvements in efficiency were driven, at least in

part, by improvements in yield for all crops.• Efficiency per unit of production helps track

resource uses vs. production/demand concerns

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2012 Preliminary Results*: Environmental Indicators*To be published July, 2012; do not cite or publish in advance of July 12, 2012

• Absolute resource use/impact increased for some crops on some indicators.– Due in part to overall increases in production

• Many factors and caveats to consider• Total use does not equal total impact• Impact often occurs on the local level• Cumulative use across all crops may reveal trade-offs due to

shifting of planting patterns

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2012 Preliminary Results*: Environmental Indicators*To be published July, 2012; do not cite or publish in advance of July 12, 2012

• Recent trends generally consistent with overall 30 year

trends– Some exceptions:

• Soil erosion (total, per acre, and per unit of production) improved nearly universally for these crops.

• More recent trends show increases in total soil erosion (due to increased production) and leveling off of per acre soil erosion.

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2012 Preliminary Soybean Results*Resources per bushel *To be published July, 2012; do not cite or publish in advance of July 12, 2012

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0.00.20.40.60.81.01.21.41.61.82.02.2

5 Yr. Avg. 1980 - 845 Yr. Avg. 1987 - 915 Yr. Avg. 1997 - 015 Yr. Avg. 2007 - 11

Land Use

GreenhouseGases

Energy

Soil Erosion

Irrigation Water Applied

Index of Per Bushel Resource Impacts to Produce Soybeans(United States, Year 2000 = 1)

Note: Data are presented in index form, where the year 2000 = 1 and a 0.1 point change is equal to a 10% difference.Index values allow for comparison of change across multiple dimensions with differing units of measure.

Year 2000 * Unit - per BushelLand Use 0.027 Planted AcresSoil Erosion 0.131 TonsIrrigation Water Applied 0.766 Acre InchesEnergy 70,669 BtusGreenhouse Gases 15.1 Pounds CO2e* Five-year average 1996 - 2000

2012 Preliminary Rice Results* *To be published July, 2012; do not cite or publish in advance of July 12, 2012

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Resource Area Indicator

Trend Direction

Entire Period

Compound Annual

Total Production ↑ 53 1.4Cwt per Acre ↑ 53 1.4

Total Planted Acres ↑ 9 0.3Acres per Cwt ↓ (35) (1.4)

Total Tons ↑ 9 0.3Tons per Acre ↓ (0) (0.0)Tons per Cwt ↓ (34) (1.3)Total Volume ↓ (18) (0.6)

Volume per Irrigated Acre ↓ (25) (0.9)Volume per Cwt ↓ (53) (2.4)

Total Btu ↑ 6 0.2Btu per Acre ↓ (3) (0.1)Btu per Cwt ↓ (38) (1.5)

Total Pounds ↑ 5 0.2Pounds per Acre ↓ (4) (0.1)Pounds per Cwt ↓ (38) (1.5)

Rice Summary of Results: Trends in U.S. Production, Resource Use / Impact, 1980-2011

Percent Change*1980-2011

GHG Emissions(CO2 Equivalents)

Crop Yield

Land Use

Soil Erosion

Irrigation Water Applied

Energy Use

The Path Forward:Opportunities for Collaboration

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Where You Stand Depends Upon Where You Sit

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Historically 2050

Too Late

Agribusiness

Government

NGOs

Growers

Food Processors/Retailers

Academia

Consumer

The Only Path Forward Is A Common Path

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Agribusiness

Government

NGOs

Growers

Food Retailers

Academia

Consumer

FTM

NISATSCSAI

SFL

SISC

CGF

Yesterday Today Tomorrow

International Adoption• Canada• Brazil• Argentina• Spain

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Summary

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U.S. Producers Have a Great Story to Tell• Efficiency gains over time, along with increased

production• Continued challenges ahead for meeting increased

demand within limits of natural resources and social and economic needs

• With the collaboration of U.S. farmers, tools and metrics are emerging to help track and communicate progress and identify opportunities for continued improvement

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In Summary

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• Imperative we produce more with the resources we have now• Zero sum game if we do not do so sustainably• Supply shocks are inevitable• Food shortages = political / economic / civil instability• Economics matter• Time is not on our side• Market volatility is likely to increase as a natural outcome• Collaboration and action are the first order of business• Not just government responsibility – it is ours as well• Imperative we imbed sustainability deeply into our strategic thinking

Path Forward• Acknowledge preferences• Respect differences• Listen• Learn• Exert leadership • Move ahead together

Microsoft

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Questions/Contact Information• Fred Luckey, Chairman

– (314) 409-7822; fred.luckey@fieldtomarket.org • Julie Shapiro, Facilitator

– 970-513-5830; jshapiro@keystone.org• Field to Market Website

– Fieldprint Calculator – 2012 National Report (July)– http://www.fieldtomarket.org

Questions?

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