June 22, 2024
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – Earth.com reports on how farmers are adopting regenerative agriculture for better soil health. Check out the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – Civil Eats has published its summer 2024 food and farming book list. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – UBS writes in an article that the ability to meet nature goals is only possible if farmers are in the room. Read the article, here.
Industry Updates
The Agriculture Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives has held its first hearing on a bill that would establish a task force to develop a healthy soils initiative for the state. The bill directs the task force to develop a comprehensive action plan to coordinate efforts to carry out the healthy soils initiative using standards for organic matter, biological activity and diversity, and soil structure as measures to assess improved soil health. In addition, the task force is to develop recommendations for testing of chemicals such as dioxin in the soil. The development of recommendations for using plants for soil remediation, including alfalfa, sunflower, date palms, and mustards is also required. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced the annual sign-up period for the Cover Crop Program will take place at soil conservation district offices statewide from June 21 through July 17, 2024. One of the department’s most popular initiatives, the program provides farmers with cost-share assistance to offset seed, labor, and equipment costs to plant fall cover crops protecting local water quality, building healthy soils, and capturing carbon from the atmosphere. To help create diversity, eligible cover crop species may be mixed with radish and legumes, including clover, Austrian winter peas, and hairy vetch, using a variety of two- and three-species mixes. The department has allocated approximately $20 million for its 2024-2025 Cover Crop Program. [link]
Member states in the European Council voted to approve the long-contested Nature Restoration Law, a key piece of legislation aimed at protecting and restoring natural ecosystems, and creating a mandated target for EU countries implement measures to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030. The Nature Restoration Law was initially proposed by the European Commission in June 2022, with an objective to restore ecosystems, habitats and species across the EU’s land and sea areas, with studies indicating that more than 80% of European habitats are in poor shape. Under the new legislation, member states will be required to put into place restoration measures to restore at least 30% of habitats that are in poor condition by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050, and to regularly submit national restoration plans indicating how they will deliver on the targets. The law sets out specific requirements for a broad range of ecosystems, covering wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes, as well as marine ecosystems such as seagrass and sponge and coral beds. [link]
A new map from the Save Soil movement – backed by the UNEP, UNCCD, UNFAO, WFP, and IUCN amongst others – illustrates that 95% of Earth's soil is on course to be degraded by 2050. Degraded soil, resulting largely from intensive farming practices, is low in “organic matter,” which means it does not retain water as effectively, making us vulnerable to climate shocks such as droughts, wildfires, and water shortages. Every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy soil becomes degraded – adding up to a total of 100 million hectares every year. Non-degraded healthy soil is a direct necessity for 95% of the food production for more than 8 billion people. [link]
AgMission has partnered with PepsiCo to award three grants to researchers in Australia, Mexico and Canada for a total combined $6.7 million investment to support evidence-based research on the effectiveness of climate-smart agriculture practices that incorporate regenerative agriculture principles. Climate-smart practices can help reduce carbon emissions and provide environmental benefits associated with regenerative agriculture; however, limited data exists on how to effectively incorporate these practices on farms. All three grantees awarded through this effort will work closely with farmers and farmer organizations to co-develop transition plans to introduce regenerative practices, improve understanding of the impacts and outcomes, and contribute to scientific evidence that can help overcome widespread adoption challenges. [link]
Researchers at Tyndall National Institute, based at University Cork (UCC), have developed a groundbreaking sensor that will allow farmers to reduce their use of chemical fertilizers. Tyndall’s ground-breaking Electronic Smart System (ESS) sensor is buried in the soil and monitors nutrient levels in real time. The sensor connects to the Internet of Things (IoT) and uses cloud technology to collect and analyze the data, generating a report for the farmer. The report provides farmers with real-time insights into changing soil conditions, helping them to optimize fertilizer, reduce nutrient losses and environmental impacts. [link]
Countries in Southeast Asia need to apply more innovative, region-specific solutions that fit their local context in order to tackle the challenges facing agriculture and crop production, according to a new report on food systems sustainability from New CropLife Asia and the EU-ASEAN Business Council. The report stresses that agricultural approaches “must be designed from and for the regional sustainability context” and not outside of it. It urges Southeast Asian countries to resist pressure from developed nations to adopt approaches that do not align with their environmental context. The document further outlines the agricultural sector in Southeast Asia's significant challenges from climate change, which threatens lower yields and increased risks from flooding and drought, as well as pests, weeds and disease. The report says these remain acute due to tropical agriculture, which has its own unique parameters. [link]
Chocolate, candy and snacks producer Hershey announced a series of new climate-related goals, with new targets to reduce emissions originating in its value chain, including Forest Land and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions. The company’s new goals include reducing FLAG emissions by 36%, and non-FLAG Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030, on a 2018 baseline, marking an increase from Hershey’s prior target to reduce Scope 3 by 25% by 2030. Hershey outlined a series of initiatives it is pursuing in order to reduce emissions across its value chain, including sourcing approximately 80% of electricity from renewable and zero-emission sources in 2023, creating a cross-functional team to oversee delivery of plant-level energy reduction targets, and investing in projects promoting good agricultural practices and technology in its cocoa, dairy and sugar supply chains. [link]
Grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA has teamed with global snacking company Kellanova and North American agribusiness Bartlett to reduce scope 3 greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from wheat farming across the value chain. Scheduled to kick off this summer, the pilot program will use financial investments from Ahold Delhaize USA, Kellanova and Bartlett to support the implementation of regenerative agricultural practices among North Carolina wheat farmers. The wheat harvested and milled from these farms will be used in combination with conventionally grown wheat to manufacture Kellanova’s Cheez-It and Club crackers, which will be sold at Ahold Delhaize USA banners in 2025. [link]
The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced over $1 million in grants to promote and protect Massachusetts soil health. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) awarded Healthy Soils Plan Implementation Challenge Grants to 15 organizations to improve the management of soils in agriculture, prevent soil degradation, and support soil’s critical role in carbon sequestration. Grantees will explore soil health challenges in five different types of land uses: agriculture, forests, wetlands, recreational and ornamental, and impervious environments. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced that 23 projects will receive grant funding totaling $993,000 through the Healthy Soils Competitive Fund. This pioneering grant program provides financial assistance to qualifying farms and organizations—both large and small—that adopt innovative conservation practices that benefit climate, soil, and water. Established in 2023, the Healthy Soils Competitive Fund provides winning applicants up to $50,000 to support three years of enhanced healthy soil and agroforestry practices. Grant recipients receive up to 40% of the funds upfront, with the remainder distributed annually following verification of progress. [link]
ADM is collaborating with Ooni Pizza Ovens, Edinburgh, Scotland, to introduce a line of flour produced using regenerative agriculture practices. The flour may be used to bake pizza at home. US consumers may purchase the product through the Ooni website. ADM launched its regenerative agriculture program in the United Kingdom in 2023 to support a farming approach designed to protect and improve soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources. Ooni offers a range of pizza ovens as well as dough balls, a dough mix, flour, yeast and pizza sauce. [link]
Indigo Ag and Microsoft announced a new carbon removal purchase agreement, with Indigo delivering 40,000 tons of carbon credits to Microsoft generated through the promotion of regenerative agriculture practices by U.S. farmers. Indigo Ag helps farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices including cover crops, diversified crop rotation, reduced tillage and improved nitrogen timing. Under its program, farmers add the new practices with agronomic support from Indigo, while the company also calculates the carbon credits through the use of soil samples and on-farm data, validates the findings with a verifier, with results submitted to a carbon registry, for issuance of the credits, which can be sold to corporate buyers. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In early June, Argentina announced the implementation of its new certification process to raise climate-friendly beef. See more, here.