Press Releases

Field to Market Opens Public Comment for Proposed Revision to Water Quality Metric

June 23, 2020

New Metric Seeks to Improve the Assessment of a Field’s Site-Specific Potential for Nutrient Loss and Effectiveness of Conservation Practices to Improve Water Quality Outcomes

 

Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture announced today a request for public comment of a proposed revision to the Water Quality Metric in the Fieldprint® Platform that seeks to replace the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Water Quality Index (WQI) tool with the NRCS Stewardship Tool for Environmental Performance (STEP). By replacing WQI with STEP, Field to Market’s Water Quality Metric will seek to better characterize the site-specific, relative potential for nutrient loss and effectiveness of conservation practices on a given field by accounting for the specific soil, topography and climatic conditions.

The Water Quality Metric can be accessed either through the Fieldprint Platform’s online calculator or through associated farm management software that integrates Field to Market’s sustainability metrics and algorithms. This metric is one of eight sustainability indicators included in Field to Market’s science-based, outcomes-driven and pre-competitive measurement framework, which is utilized by farmers and the value chain to assess the sustainability performance of commodity crops and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Summary of Proposed Revision to the Water Quality Metric
The Water Quality Metric currently utilizes the NRCS Water Quality Index tool to provide a qualitative measure of the risk of loss of nitrogen, phosphorous, sediment and chemicals from water runoff across a field. Field to Market first approved the WQI tool in 2011 as a placeholder. In doing so, Field to Market’s members and Board advised we use the index temporarily while continuing to explore alternative, quantitative approaches to assessing nutrient loss from individual farm fields. Over the past several years, Field to Market’s Metrics Committee and Science Advisory Council, in collaboration with expert advisors from member universities, have assessed a number of different tools and approaches for their potential as a Water Quality Metric.

The Metrics Committee recommends that Field to Market replace the WQI tool with the NRCS Stewardship Tool for Environmental Performance, a component of the Resource Stewardship Evaluation Tool (RSET), while continuing to follow developments in science and technology that would eventually enable a quantitative, field level approach. STEP is an index tool designed to determine the site-specific risk of nutrient loss and then evaluate farm management practices based on the extent to which they mitigate said risk. Replacing WQI with STEP, which accounts for a field’s specific soil and topographic characteristics and climate conditions, is an effort to allow the Fieldprint Platform to better characterize the site-specific, relative potential for nutrient loss and effectiveness of conservation practices on a given field.

This revision is being considered as a more thorough qualitative approach, with a strong foundation rooted in national quantitative modeling assessments, which will improve water quality assessment for farmers until a quantitative water quality approach that is available nationally at the field level becomes scientifically and technically feasible.


Process and Timeline
As an ISEAL subscriber, any changes to Field to Market’s metric calculations undergo a multi-step review process, followed by a public comment period, prior to implementation in the Fieldprint Platform.

After reviewing materials and discussions related to the NRCS documentation, the proposed revision to replace the qualitative index within the Water Quality Metric was approved on June 1, 2020 by Field to Market’s Metrics Committee. The committee is an elected, multi-stakeholder governance body comprised of equal representation from Field to Market’s grower, agribusiness, brands and retail, civil society and affiliate (public sector and academia) membership sectors.

This proposed revision is now open for public comment through July 24, 2020. Following this period of public comment, the proposed revision and synthesis of public comments received will be presented to Field to Market’s Board of Directors at their August meeting to seek approval to implement within the Fieldprint Platform.

 

Please Share Your Feedback
Download the proposed revision to the water quality index component of the Water Quality Metric.

Please send any feedback to comments@fieldtomarket.org by July 24, 2020.

ABOUT FIELD TO MARKET

Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture® brings together a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, feed, beverage, restaurant, and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners to focus on defining, measuring, and advancing the sustainability of food, feed, fiber, and fuel production. Field to Market comprises around 200 members representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, with members employing more than 5 million people and representing combined revenues totaling over $1.5 trillion. 

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