Guest post by Linda Prokopy and Belyna Bentlage Linda Prokopy is a Professor of Natural Resources Social Science and Belyna Bentlage is a Research Associate in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. They conduct research on how to motivate farmers to adopt sustainable practices. There is an urgent and recognized need to address sustainability issues in agriculture, including but not limited to, soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, animal welfare, and water quality. The current trajectory of U.S. policy …
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What did you accomplish with all that taxpayer money?
It seems like “dollars spent” has become the new metric for reporting improvements in soil and water conservation. I totally agree, we should know how much money is being spent on protecting our natural resources, but I think “dollars spent” is a misleading way to report progress. Taxpayers are entitled to information that contains more specificity, such as tons of soil or pounds of nitrogen kept from entering water bodies. Better yet, progress reporting should include efficiency information such as the cost of saving a ton of soil (cost/ton …
Looking at Both Sides of the Equation
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with Dr. Jorge Delgado at his office in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Delgado is a research soil scientist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and one of the godfathers of Precision Conservation. While visiting, Dr. Delgado demonstrated his Nitrogen Index tool. The Nitrogen Index tool is designed to help resource professionals quickly assess the N loss risk related to agricultural nitrogen. Currently, there are several nitrogen tools available through the …
Chainparency
Free to Small Farmers: Who says big farmers get all the breaks? I have some good news specifically directed to small farmers. Chainparency, a blockchain company, is providing complementary access to their software for the next year. Using blockchain technology, farmers can prove their food origin and chain of custody with a digitized record; providing a high level of transparency that will build trust between distributors and consumers. Chainparency’s 12-month Global Acceleration Program for Sustainability (GAPS) program is designed to …
The End or the Start?
This week I find myself sorting through a mountain of turbulent emotions. After a wonderful ride of 22 years, I am no longer the CEO of Agren. Last week, we inked a deal with a major agribusiness whereby they acquired Agren and our software. As I said, this announcement comes with a range of emotions. The process of selling Agren has come with feelings of sorrow and loss. I would be lying if I said this process has been easy. It is difficult to walk away from a life-time spent pursuing a passion and realizing the rewards of relationships …