National Indicators Report
Field to Market analyzes sustainability metrics focused on U.S. agriculture and the science-based measurements of outcomes associated with commodity crop production.
U.S. commodities like corn, cotton, potatoes, rice, soybeans and wheat represent a significant proportion of the cropland in the United States and are often associated with complex supply chains that require innovative approaches to sustainability measurement and data sharing. Our National Indicators Report is a peer-reviewed report that analyzes sustainability trends over time for U.S. agriculture, evaluating the conservation and stewardship efforts of our nation’s commodity farmers. This trend analysis provides important context, enables informed discussions of priorities for more localized efforts and creates a baseline against which to monitor and measure future change.
Analyzing trends in pest management and presenting recommendations for collective action.
For the first time in 2020, Field to Market released a report on Trends in Pest Management in U.S. Agriculture, analyzing barriers to progress and presenting available solutions for the food and agriculture value chain to take collective action to advance responsible pest management. Modeled after our signature science-based National Indicators Report, the report focuses on chemical use and pest management practices from USDA surveys from 1990 to 2018 on nine commodity crops covered by Field to Market’s programs.
Explore the Report by Crop
Explore National Level Trends in Environmental Outcomes
Overview
What We Learned:
- This report summarizes progress toward sustainable, regenerative agriculture in the United States by analyzing national trends in environmental indicators for 11 crops from 1980 to 2020.
- While substantial progress has been made since 1980 in reducing soil erosion; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and improving efficiency of energy, water and land use, progress in the most recent 15 years has generally been slower, and some declines in resource use efficiency are observed.
- Engagement of the broader agricultural community to overcome systemic barriers and achieve a widespread transition to sustainable, regenerative agriculture will be necessary to enable and scale verifiable progress toward environmental goals.
- The report findings will be used by Field to Market to identify opportunities for member-led efforts to achieve continuous improvement in environmental outcomes through partnerships and collective action by the value chain.
Report Objectives
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Analyzing trends over time in sustainability performance for U.S. commodity crop systems
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Creating enabling conditions for stakeholders in the U.S. to contribute to discussion and development of sustainable agriculture metrics and their application toward advancing sustainable practices
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Advancing an outcomes-based approach that is grounded in science to define and measure agricultural sustainability, which can be adapted for other geographies and crops
Read our previous National Indicators Reports