October 28, 2023
Spotlight Story
Iowa Public Radio says that farmers have taken steps to reduce fertilizer runoff. However, experts say that voluntary measures won’t reverse Iowa’s water quality problems. Read the story, here.
Industry Updates
The National Center for Appropriate Technology’s sustainable agriculture program, ATTRA, in collaboration with the United States Botanic Garden and USDA National Agroforestry Center, has released 20 urban agroforestry resources to help city-based farmers, land-owners, and community organizations integrate trees into their agricultural operations as a way of producing more than one product from the same piece of land. The project includes videos, publications, blog posts, podcasts, and webinars. The resources were developed in partnership with the USDA National Agroforestry Center and the United States Botanic Garden to promote knowledge and awareness of how urban trees can support community and climate resilience. [link]
The Uttar Pradesh government in India has finalized an ‘agroforestry policy’ that will allow farmers to generate additional income from carbon credits obtained by the plants on their farm boundaries. The state aims to increase its green cover from 9% to 15% by 2027 by linking farming with the global carbon credit market. Farmers will get financial support for planting and maintaining new tree saplings. The policy will also ensure the quality of plants for better profit. [link]
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released "A General Assessment of the Role of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. Carbon Markets," a comprehensive look at current market activity, barriers to participation, and opportunities to improve access to carbon markets for farmers and forest landowners. The report identifies a variety of barriers that have hindered the participation of agriculture in carbon markets, including limited returns on investment due to high transaction costs like greenhouse gas quantification, verification, and reporting. The report is the first of USDA’s deliverables under the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The next step in implementing the GCSA is for USDA to make a determination regarding whether to establish the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program, which would facilitate better technical assistance to producers interested in participating in carbon markets, as well as a process to register market verifiers. [link]
An extended deadline for passing the U.S. Farm Bill could be a possibility, according to the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. Lawmakers failed to pass the bill by their end-of-September deadline and now face a much stricter end-of-year deadline. But Arkansas Sen. John Boozman said Friday he would like to consider a one-year extension on passing the bill. He said an extension doesn’t mean it would take the entire year for the measure to pass. [link]
Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has unveiled plans to build a soybean processing plant in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Construction of the facility, which will have an annual soy crushing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, will begin in early 2024, the company said. The plant will also produce soybean oil and lecithin, with annual production capacities of 320,000 and 7,500 tonnes, respectively. [link]
The world’s first coffee with a “regenerative agriculture” label is being distributed globally by the Italian brand Illy Caffè in partnership with the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation. The grains of “Arabica Selection Brasile Cerrado Mineiro,” have regenerative certification from Regenagri. This global organization aims to guarantee the health and preservation of the soil, with accreditation from the British Control Union. The label proves there has been an increase in organic matter in the soil, improvement in biodiversity, rebalancing of the ecosystem’s natural functions, sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and an increase in the water, carbon and nutrient cycles. [link]
A team of researchers from Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin has been awarded a grant from USDA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help support the use of agroforestry practices and markets by small and medium-sized farms in the region. The project is led by Dr. Emily Huff, an associate professor in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. The project will provide opportunities for Farmer Woodland Owners (FWOs) in each state to gather in farmer learning circles and connect with agriculture and natural resource professionals to identify innovative uses of trees and forests within agricultural systems that can improve farm viability and increase environmental and social benefits. The project team will also develop agroforestry demonstration farms in each state where the ecological, social, and economic impacts of agroforestry on farmers' land, businesses, and households can be evaluated. The project began in summer 2023 and will continue until the end of 2028. [link]
Nearly 200 groups led by Food & Water Watch sent a letter to USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, urging the agency to reconsider its recent decision to include several “conservation practices” that support factory farms and the proliferation of factory farm gas in its list of Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry practices that will be prioritized under the Inflation Reduction Act. The letter warns that nearly $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding intended to boost climate-smart agriculture could go to polluting factory farms. The push also comes as nearly 200,000 Friends of the Earth members have signed a petition to USDA demanding the agency end its support of the factory farm system. [link]
Growing numbers of farmers are submitting soil specimens for analysis, however agronomist Dr. Sajjad Awan of the soil testing laboratory, NRM, says that most are conducting their soil tests incorrectly. Taking soil samples will only produce useful data for a nutrient management plan if they are done consistently over time. This means sampling at the same time of year, in exactly the same place, and under the same field conditions. To establish whether soils are building up, or declining, in key nutrients over time, Sajjad points out that samples must be compared like-with-like over a period of 10-20 years to generate good-quality data. [link]
The Regenerative Fund for Nature has opened its 2024 grant applications, inviting project applications from the cotton, leather, cashmere and wool supply chains. The Regenerative Fund for Nature is a partnership between Conservation International, Kering and Inditex which supports sustainable agriculture projects in the fashion supply chain. Funding is available for projects in Argentina, Mexico, Peru, the United States, Turkey, Uganda, India, Tanzania, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Greece, Morocco, South Africa, New Zealand, Uruguay, China (Inner Mongolia) and Mongolia. Grants will range from $120,000-$620,000 and cover 3-5 years, available for businesses including micro, small and medium enterprises, farming groups, project developers and raw material aggregators committed to regenerative agriculture. [link]
A new report from ResearchAndMarkets says that the global mycorrhizae-based biofertilizers market was valued at $571 million as of 2022 and is poised for a CAGR of 7% out through 2028. Mycorrhizae-based biofertilizers are specialized organic formulations that harness the power of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, combined with essential nutrients and growth-promoting microorganisms. Key market drivers include rising demand for organic food, growing demand for sustainable food and flavors, and increasing research and innovation. Key challenges include high cost and limited shelf life. [link]
The Green Climate Fund, headquartered in South Korea, will invest $39.1 million in Rwanda's Congo Nile Divide in the pursuit of forest and landscape restoration in order to build climate resilience of vulnerable communities. The fund notes that it will develop more sustainable management of 278,000 hectares (687,000 acres) and promote sustainable agroforestry techniques in 2,000 hectares of plantations, reducing demand for fuelwood and alleviating deforestation pressures. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In late September, a new study was published that showed regenerative agriculture practices have distinct economic benefits for farmers, in addition to their oft-cited environmental benefits. Check it out, here.