Learn how Nutrien is helping to feed the world responsibly.

Member Spotlight: Nutrien

Learn how Nutrien is helping to feed the world responsibly.

Meeting the demands of a growing, more affluent global population while conserving the planet’s natural resources is a challenge that the entire food and agriculture value chain must address. For Nutrien, a leading producer and distributor of agricultural products and services, responding to this challenge has shaped the company’s sustainability vision—to feed the world responsibly.

“Feeding the world responsibly means not only helping farmers grow more food, but doing it in ways that protect the environment, support economic vitality and enhance communities,” said Michelle Nutting, manager of agricultural sustainability for Nutrien. “One of the greatest challenges the global community has ever faced is how to sustainably feed a rapidly growing population. This challenge is complex and won't be solved quickly, but we believe we're stronger working together, and that’s why we are a member of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.”

Nutrien seeks to collaborate with growers, universities, government and other stakeholders to identify new opportunities and tools to improve sustainability efforts. Field to Market offers a platform to do just that.

“Field to Market offers a collaborative, shared value partnership where we, as an organization, can talk to policy makers, farmers, and the community at large about what’s happening in agriculture with a lot more credibility. Field to Market brings together resources that any one of us alone would not have,” Michelle explained.

“We’re all aware of the challenges of feeding a growing world population and managing the limited resources that we have, in terms of air, water and soil. Sustainability for us is about ensuring the best use of resources so that we can meet what society’s expectations are from agriculture as well as supporting a thriving agricultural economy and having the kind of environmental outcomes from agricultural practices that we all expect,” said Michelle.

One of Nutrien’s key strategies is the 4R Nutrient Stewardship System, which provides stakeholders with a science based approach to nutrient management that will help growers improve their economic performance, increase food production and reduce environmental impacts by applying nutrients at the right source, right rate, right time and right place.

“Field to Market took the time to understand nutrient application principles and recognize that it aligns with the goals of Field to Market,” Michelle shared.

With a business focused on serving the agriculture industry, joining Field to Market made sense since the Alliance helps set the agenda for sustainable agriculture, according to Michelle.

Michelle Nutting

Manager of Agricultural Sustainability,
Nutrien

“Field to Market convenes scientific perspectives from all the different sectors that are involved, and it also leverages coordinated communication to move the sustainability conversation forward.”

Michelle Nutting
Agricultural Sustainability Manager
Nutrien

“We need to be part of the conversation to help expand the knowledge around agricultural practices. There is a lot of science from the ecological and environmental side, and Nutrien wants to offer our expertise and agronomic perspective,” Michelle explained. “Field to Market convenes scientific perspectives from all the different sectors that are involved, and it also leverages coordinated communication to move the sustainability conversation forward.”

For Nutrien, participating in Field to Market has not only offered the opportunity to contribute in advancing the science around sustainability, but also the chance to engage with a broader array of potential partners and stakeholders.

“Field to Market has given us a connection to companies that normally wouldn’t be in our path,” Michelle highlighted. “For example, we’ve been able to connect with food, beverage and retail companies to discuss their drivers of sustainability and what they look for from farmers. This allows us to help our growers support what brands and retailers are asking for.”

By establishing a common measurement framework for assessing the sustainability of commodity crop production, Field to Market’s Fieldprint® Platform allows Nutrien to provide its farmer customers one set of sustainability metrics to work towards, reducing the burden of complying with multiple approaches or responding to a proliferation of supply chain surveys.

“Farmers are as concerned as anyone on this planet about how we’re managing our soil, water and air. They are responding by adopting conservation practices, but they often don’t know how to communicate what it is they’re doing to consumers and the general public,” Michelle asserted. “Field to Market and the awareness of our involvement is helping our farmer customers understand the value of the data that they manage on their farms and how that can be communicated positively."

“It’s going to take the entire value chain working collaboratively to understand how to move from collecting data from farmers to creating outcomes that speak to how agriculture is advancing sustainability. Participating in Field to Market ensures that we’re developing good metrics, communicating the science behind those metrics, and documenting and demonstrating—through use of the Fieldprint Calculator—the collective impact of farmers’ efforts to improve the sustainability of agriculture,” Michelle emphasized.

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