Press Releases

Field to Market and the Noble Research Institute Announce Collaboration to Unlock Added Value for Farmers Delivering Ecosystem Services

October 31, 2018

Respected Research and Sustainability Leaders Team Up to Explore New Market Opportunities for Producers Committed to Improving Soil Health

As stewards of the land, farmers play an important role in delivering ecosystem services such as improved water quality and sequestering soil carbon by managing their farms with an eye towards sustainability. Today, Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture is proud to announce a collaboration with the Noble Research Institute (NRI) that seeks to unlock added value for farmers delivering ecosystem services.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the agriculture sector accounts for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. With the support of ecosystem service markets, however, 89 percent of agriculture’s emissions can be mitigated by incentivizing farmers and ranchers to effectively sequester carbon into soils. Healthy soils can sequester carbon, improve water quality, control run-off and reduce water demand, all of which create a cleaner environment. Healthy soils also improve crop yield and resilience while decreasing farmers’ and ranchers’ need for agricultural inputs.

In a memorandum of understanding, NRI and Field to Market have agreed to work toward greater collaboration between their respective programs to realize these outcomes. This collaboration will facilitate aligning Field to Market’s focus on scaling agricultural supply chain sustainability with NRI’s focus on voluntary ecosystem service markets for scaling soil health. The collaboration begins with a mutual commitment to science-based quantification of environmental outcomes and an effort to pursue alignment in methodologies where possible. Moreover, the agreement formalizes both organizations’ intent to partner in pilot projects to explore how supply chain sustainability efforts could create a runway for engagement in voluntary ecosystem service markets—offering value-added incentives for farmers who are improving soil health.

“This collaboration with the Noble Research Institute signals Field to Market’s commitment to unlocking added value for farmers who are able to document and demonstrate how their management practices deliver sustainable outcomes for agriculture,” said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. “Voluntary ecosystem service markets hold great potential for incentivizing greater adoption of practices that drive verifiable improvements in soil health, water quality and other environmental outcomes.”

Through its diverse membership of grower organizations, leading companies, academia, conservation groups and public sector partners, Field to Market seeks to create opportunities across the agricultural supply chain for continuous improvement in productivity, environmental quality and human well-being. Leveraging the metrics and benchmarks of the Fieldprint® Platform, Field to Market’s program focuses on benchmarking and collecting data on current sustainability outcomes, catalyzing continuous improvement at the field and landscape level, and enabling supply chain sustainability claims through data aggregation.

“By monetizing soil health to reward those farmers and ranchers who are actively adopting and improving practices that protect our environment, a market-based approach will benefit agricultural producers while improving the environment for society at large,” said Bill Bucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Research Institute. “A strong collaboration partnership between NRI and Field to Market can help harmonize our approaches to realize these outcomes, while enabling farmers to reap benefits from their stewardship efforts. We are proud to workpartner with Field to Market and look forward to collaborating on opportunities to create solutions at the pace and scale required to tackle climate change.”

ABOUT NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Noble Research Institute (www.noble.org) is an independent nonprofit agricultural research organization dedicated to delivering solutions to great agricultural challenges. Headquartered in Ardmore, Oklahoma, the Noble Research Institute conducts fundamental, translational and applied research; offers no-cost consultation and education to farmers, ranchers and land managers; operates seven research and demonstration farms; and educates students of all ages about science and agriculture. The Noble Research Institute was founded by Lloyd Noble, an Oklahoma oilman and philanthropist, in 1945 as The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation to advance agriculture and land stewardship.

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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"This collaboration with the Noble Research Institute signals Field to Market’s commitment to unlocking added value for farmers who are able to document and demonstrate how their management practices deliver sustainable outcomes for agriculture."

Rod Snyder
President, Field to Market

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