Press Releases

Helping Farmers Increase Efficiency and Share Their Sustainability Story

July 18, 2016

WATCH: Scott Spohn shares how he uses the Fieldprint Calculator to improve environmental outcomes & his bottom line.
 

 
For Scott Spohn—a fifth generation farmer who grows 6,000 acres of corn, soybeans and seed corn near Friend, Nebraska—the topic of sustainability is vital to his farm for two very important reasons. First, it’s a platform that enables him to share his story of conservation and stewardship with consumers, as the corn he grows ends up on tables across the country in breakfast cereal. Secondly, it provides a lens to help ensure that the practices Scott implements on his family farm will sustain its value for generations to come.
 
“It’s important for farmers to tell their sustainability story so consumers have a better understanding of where their food comes from and how their food is produced. People need to know the reasons we’re doing the things we’re doing, how we’re trying to be efficient with our resources and raise more bushels with fewer inputs, less fertilizer, less water,” said Scott.
 
The Fieldprint® Calculator is an important tool in helping Scott identify those opportunities where he can become more efficient, producing positive results for the environment and his bottom line. A practice that he believes all farmers can benefit from.

“Without measurement tools like the Fieldprint Calculator, I think it’s really hard for a farming operation to say, I’m sustainable or I’m really efficient in this, because you don’t have any basis for comparison,” he added. “It’s like a football coach that doesn’t want to watch any film. Every football coach watches film because they know they can look for areas where they can improve and continue to get better. And it’s the same with farming, there’s always room for improvement. By using the Fieldprint Calculator, we can continually improve our operations.”

This analysis has helped Scott advanced sustainable outcomes, like reducing his carbon footprint and improving his irrigation water use efficiency, while maximizing his bottom line.

“The Fieldprint Calculator has helped me watch my profitability on my farming operation because it has allowed me to look at the things that we can improve a little bit more. I always felt our farm was very sustainable, but when you start comparing it to other neighbors, you say, well, maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought,” said Scott.  “That’s what I like about the Fieldprint Calculator—I can specifically look at one area and it will show me, maybe it’s my soil that I need to work on, maybe it’s my irrigation that I need to work on, or maybe it’s my fertility, but it allows you to break it down and find out where the biggest improvements and savings can be found.”

Pursuing this journey of continuous improvement is not only about the bottom line to Scott. It’s about sustaining the health of his soil and the value of his farm for future generations.

“As a fifth generation farmer, I think it’s extremely important to give my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids the same opportunity to come home and farm that I’ve had,” said Scott. “I want the next five generations of my farm to be able to come home and have the same opportunity that I have. So, in order for that to happen, we need to continue to be as efficient as possible with our natural resources that God has given us.”

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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“The Fieldprint® Calculator has helped me watch my profitability on my farming operation because it has allowed me to look at the things that we can improve a little bit more.”

—Scott Spohn, 5th Generation Farmer, Friend, NE

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