Spotlight Series
Global Partnerships and Local Advisers Bring Conservation to Scale Across the Cornbelt
Across eight states in the Midwest cornbelt, more than 1,800 farmers are participating in Field to Market’s largest Continuous Improvement Project – connecting a small army of participating farmers with local advisers, cooperatives, retailers, and customers including one of the world’s most recognizable beverage brands.
Through nearly two years of pandemic disruptions, the participating producers may not have been able to connect face to face with each other or their supporters in the value chain, but the project has continued to make steady progress in driving the adoption of conservation practices which improve farmers’ greenhouse gas emissions and soil health.
“Driving change on such a large scale, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, with every business and farming family facing unforeseen disruption, has been a challenge, with farmer outreach that much harder to do,” reflects Anna Pierce, Tate & Lyle Director of Sustainability and the project’s sponsors. “The fact that the vast majority – 86% - of farmer participants remain active members in our program speaks to the value they see in its ability to help them make better informed decisions that can help them secure a sustainable future for generations to come.”
Tate & Lyle’s Sustainable Corn Project brings together Field to Market members Tate & Lyle, Truterra and The Coca-Cola Company in an ambitious effort to scale sustainable agriculture practices which are proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen soil health. Tate & Lyle’s sustainable agriculture program started as a pilot enrolling 310,000 acres has grown over time to 1.5 million acres, equivalent to all of the corn that Tate & Lyle sources in a single year.
One key to the project’s success is the use of Truterra™ Insights Engine, which equips participating farmers with relevant technical support and actionable insights. The Insights Engine is one of Field to Market’s eight qualified data management partners, meaning that farmers are able to use the platform to access key agronomic insights while tapping into the industry-accepted sustainability metrics provided through Field to Market’s Fieldprint Platform.
“Using the Fieldprint Platform through Truterra, farmers are able to quantify their environmental outcomes and see economic components behind the conservation that they hadn’t thought about before,” explains Leslie Fisher, a resource conservation specialist for Indiana’s Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District who has supported the project. “The Platform also plays a key role in connecting farmers to the supply chain, and the incredible partnerships that we have with Tate & Lyle, Truterra and Coca-Cola wouldn’t exist without using that platform.”
Tate & Lyle Sustainable Corn Project
“The fact that the vast majority – 86% - of farmer participants remain active members in our program speaks to the value they see in its ability to help them make better informed decisions that can help them secure a sustainable future for generations to come.”
Anna Pierce
Director of Sustainability
Tate & Lyle
The data equips farmers with powerful insights to understand their environmental impact – and farmers enrolled in the project benefit from the work of expert advisers working alongside them to make sure that data is digestible and actionable. Local advisers, including local conservation experts such as Fisher, as well as Truterra’s vast ag retailer network, drive impact in the project by working with farmers to enter and understand their sustainability data through the Insights Engine.
“Farmers turn to agricultural retailers for their farm inputs and agronomic advice,” explains Jason Weller, Vice President, Truterra. “Our ag retail network is locally built and locally owned – they know their markets, their soils and their farmers better than anyone. That’s what allows for place-based conservation to happen.”
Tapping into local networks and partners has begun to deliver results and inform the program’s direction. Last year, the year-over-year results for the 1.24 million acres enrolled in the program both years, show that farmers have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2%; the equivalent of removing 2,430 cars from the road in one year, as well as achieving modest improvements in soil quality and advanced nitrogen use efficiency.
“We are incredibly encouraged by these early results,” shares Pierce of Tate & Lyle. “We are committed to continue building partnerships with members of the value chain and key stakeholders to support growers as they continue their conservation journey to meet our purpose of improving lives for generations by caring for our planet and helping to protect growers’ livelihoods.”
"The Fieldprint® Platform plays a key role in connecting farmers to the supply chain, and the incredible partnerships that we have with Tate & Lyle, Truterra and Coca-Cola wouldn’t exist without using that platform."
Leslie Fisher
Resource Conservation Specialist
Benton County, Indiana
