Farm, food, environmental groups launch $4 million conservation effort
Organizations representing food companies, agricultural supply firms and conservation organizations have launched the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative and plan to raise $4 million over five years for conservation efforts.
The money will help accelerate the Soil Health Partnership, a farmer-led campaign organized by the National Corn Growers Association. Founding members of the collaborative include Cargill, the Environmental Defense Fund, General Mills, Kellogg Co., Monsanto, PepsiCo, the Nature Conservancy, Walmart and the World Wildlife Fund.
The partners will specifically be working to meet the goals of a federal task force aimed at reducing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, an area of low oxygen caused in part by fertilizer runoff. In Iowa, those goals include sharp cuts in fertilizer runoff and ensuring that 75 percent of row crop acres are using conservation practices by 2025.
The collaborative said it will focus on these four strategies:
- Build data to help engage farmers via the Soil Health Partnership. With 65 farm sites already a part of the effort, the Soil Health Partnership’s goal is to enroll 100 farms for field-scale testing and measuring management practices that improve soil health.
- Provide training and technical support for ag retailers and crop advisers to help encourage farmers to use the smallest amount of fertilizer necessary, and to plant rye or other cover crops to hold soil.
- Consider policies that would help provide incentives for farmers to use conservation practices.
- Highlight innovations by farmers and show measurable progress.
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