Posted December 9, 2021 | By: Jeff Peters, Director of Sustainable Agriculture
Growing Partnerships for a More Sustainable Future
There’s a new revenue stream for growers and the ag industry as a whole, and it’s focused on creating a more sustainable future. The voluntary market to sell carbon credits continues to captivate growers and businesses with conversations now turning into action around the topic of climate change and the recent COP26 conference.
Carbon programs are relatively new, with a lot of questions surrounding how they work. Check out my colleague, Ben Nelson’s, introductory blog on carbon programs, for some background, but today, I want to dive deeper into the downstream partnership aspect. Downstream partners are rethinking old supply chain business models in light of the need to decarbonize their operations. Their role will be critical as leaders and investors in supporting the transition of the ag industry. The goal is to ensure the long-term viability of these ag supply chains to meet the ever-growing demand for feed, fuel and fiber, as well as, to tackle the topic of climate change. While there are a lot of details to still work out within this marketplace, the need to address the global challenge starts at a very local scale with farmers. There is a growing opportunity for agriculture to help mitigate carbon emissions.
Downstream Partnerships 101
Companies, such as Ardent Mills, and others throughout the food value chain, are entering the conversation and are actively participating in carbon programs with the ultimate goal of significantly reducing their carbon footprint in the coming decades. Downstream companies with ambitious climate goals are teaming up with companies in the agricultural space, such as Nutrien Ag Solutions, to generate and purchase carbon credits produced by growers enrolled in active carbon programs. At the end of the production season, when carbon outcomes are verified, qualifying growers can generate incremental income when the verified carbon credits are purchased by the downstream partners.
As a global retailer, we at Nutrien Ag Solutions can utilize these strong partnerships and relationships to create new market opportunities for growers, partners and consumer brands pursuing sustainable success. By using Agrible® — a digital tool that measures a grower’s sustainability efforts and then connects them to leading downstream food processing and manufacturing companies — we are enabling the monitoring of sustainable practices while ensuring a positive ROI, supporting growers as they navigate their journey to increase profitability through sustainability.
In the pursuit of sustainable success, we recently launched “The Future. Faster.” — a sustainable agriculture podcast created for growers, for partners and for the planet. We talked with Shrene White about Ardent Mills’ role in sustainable agriculture in episode 8 of the podcast. Dive into sustainable practices, data collection, market opportunities and more with the top leaders in the agriculture industry. Listen and subscribe to #TheFutureFasterPod on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify or visit futurefaster.com.
To learn more about the Nutrien Ag Solutions carbon program and sustainability efforts, visit the website. Plus, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest in how we’re #LeadingTheField.
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