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Peninsula Pride Farms Project recognized at Annual Sustainable Agriculture Summit

Peninsula Pride Farms Project recognized at Annual Sustainable Agriculture Summit

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GREEN BAY, Wis. — Farmers for Sustainable Food, Houston Engineering, Inc. and Peninsula Pride Farms were honored as Field to Market’s 2024 Collaboration of the Year for their work on the Peninsula Pride Farms Sustainability Project. Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture® is a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, feed, beverage, restaurant and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners that focus on defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food; feed, fiber and fuel production. This award recognizes outstanding collaboration and cross-sector partnership in advancing continuous improvement of sustainability at the field and landscape level.

The PPF Sustainability Project, in its fourth year, involved 11 farms managing over 34,000 acres and 40,000 head of dairy cattle in Door and Kewaunee Counties, Wis. The project will be completed next year with five years of data collection and analysis.

The farmers involved in this project use sustainability metrics to inform their farm management decisions. They have demonstrated continuous improvement in sustainability and water quality. Key findings from the PPF Sustainability Project year four results can be found here.

Data is based on analysis by Houston Engineering Inc. using Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture’s Fieldprint Platform®. 

“Collaborating with Houston Engineering to support members of Peninsula Pride in driving positive change is making a great impact, and the data continues to prove that,” Lauren Brey, Farmers for Sustainable Food managing director, said. “We’re honored to receive this award and incredibly proud of the farmers who are committed to measuring conservation progress and making improvements.”

In addition to PPF’s project, two other award recipients were honored by Field to Market.

Learn more about Field to Market and the 2024 Sustainability Leadership Awards at www.fieldtomarket.org/awards.

FSF Climate-Smart Program empowers farmers to improve, generate added value

FSF Climate-Smart Program empowers farmers to improve, generate added value

Guidance, incentives boost new opportunity for sustainability projects

LUXEMBURG, Wis. — When Paul Cornette and his brother, Tom, started down the path to farm in a more environmentally sustainable way on their dairy years ago, they soon came to realize there would be no finish line.

“We’re always looking for ways to do better. We’ll never be done,” Paul said.

What has become a journey of continuous improvement for Cornette Dairy led the family to step up a year ago as one of the first participants in what was at the time a pilot project in the Farmers for Sustainable Food Climate-Smart Program. FSF, in partnership with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, fully opened enrollment in the program earlier this month.

The purpose of the five-year program is to establish and support farmer-led projects in the Upper Midwest focused on documenting conservation practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon in the soil. Farmers receive financial stipends of between $1,500 and $9,000 per year depending on their level of involvement. Participants who go all-in also get connected with supply chain partners, such as a processor, with the goal of realizing added value for their milk downstream in the supply chain.

Initial funding for the program comes from a U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant that Edge was awarded and is administering.

“This presents an incredible opportunity for farmers to take control of their own future as they adapt to an evolving marketplace, one that increasingly demands sustainably produced food,” Tim Trotter, CEO of Edge, said. “We have developed a program that supports farmers in their environmental stewardship and, as a result, creates a competitive advantage.”

FSF and Edge for years have been helping farmers to establish on-farm environmental sustainability projects and to work collectively in local farmer-led watershed conservation groups. The Cornettes are part of one of those groups in northeastern Wisconsin.

From 2020 to 2022, the farm joined 10 others in the group in a data-driven project based on the Framework for Farm-Level Sustainability Projects, a first-of-its-kind, nationally recognized model created nearly three years ago by FSF and other partners. The Climate-Smart Program is grounded in the framework, which helps farmers determine what conservation practices are most effective for their individual farms both environmentally and financially.

Paul Cornette sees his farm’s involvement in the Climate-Smart Program as a logical next step.

“This is another step along the way, to do more analysis and see what we’re doing well and where there might be greater opportunities to improve,” he said.

Farmers in control

The Cornettes’ project is in the data analysis stage, measuring the first-year effects of practices like no-tillage planting of corn into cover crops and strip tilling with fertilizer banding.

The Climate-Smart Program differentiates from many other sustainability programs because it doesn’t dictate any specific practices, Lauren Brey, FSF’s managing director, said.

“Our program goal is to help farmers learn to use measurement and analysis tools to make data-driven management decisions that are right for their farm when incorporating new sustainability practices,” she said.

The autonomous aspect of the program sets it apart, Cornette said.

“That flexibility and ownership of what happens on your farm is empowering,” he said. “I think this is going to make the program one of the most successful.”

Brey said the program also takes farmer involvement to the next level by incorporating other entities in the supply chain, including dairy processors. Those processors have the opportunity to spearhead projects. Likewise, FSF and Edge will support farmers in sharing their outcomes with processors to help realize additional value at the end-user stage.

“We see this as a true added value to those who enroll in our program,” Brey said.

The farmers participating in this project are creating a value-added product for everyone in the supply chain just by sharing the data, regardless of whether it meets sustainability benchmarks, Cornette said.

“Of course, farmers don’t just want to share their current story, they want to have a better story to tell by meeting and exceeding those project benchmarks and their own goals. Theoretically, that should create even more value,” he said. “As a farmer, I hope that everyone else in the supply chain recognizes that value and realizes that some of that value should make it back to the farm.”

“I’m optimistic that this project will lead to exciting opportunities for all the parties involved.”

Stipends are ‘investment’

The financial incentive in the Climate-Smart Program is recognition that implementing or expanding new farming practices comes with costs, Trotter said.

“We don’t want affordability to be a deterrent or impede progress,” he said.

Cornette Dairy’s first payment went toward buying a no-till drill.

“I see the money as an investment in our sustainability practices,” Cornette said. “Having the drill is huge when it comes to planting your own cover crops and no-till planting alfalfa. I think that’s going to change the way we farm pretty substantially, and there will be climate benefits to that.”

What should farmers who are considering enrolling in the Climate-Smart Program expect?

“The initial setup with the different modeling and measurement tools is not complicated, because the program provides engineers and experts to walk you through the process,” Cornette said. “But, it is going to require time; the data needs to be complete. Like most things, you’ll get out of it what you put into it.”

“The extra attention and effort, though, is worth it,” he said. “I think that just about anybody would enjoy learning more about their farm and how to improve.”

HOW IT WORKS

Farmers can enroll in the Farmers
for Sustainable Food Climate-Smart Program through one of three channels:

  • Member of Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative
  • Membership in a local farmer-led
    watershed group that participates in FSF
  • Dairy processor or another
    organization-led project

Financial compensation is based on the farm’s participation level:

  • Contributor: Participants complete a simple greenhouse gas and carbon assessment based
    on current on-farm practices. No additional requirements.
    Contributors receive $1,500 per year of participation.
  • Cultivator: Participants take a deeper dive into their farm data through more in-depth assessments of farming practices using tools such as the Fieldprint Platform, COMET-Farm
    or other approved assessment tools. Cultivators receive an additional $3,000 for a total of $4,500 per year.
  • Collaborator: Farmers who help connect the supply chain by sharing data with downstream partners, such as processors, to help generate added value for commodities. Collaborators receive an additional $4,500 for a total of $9,000 per year.

Enrollment: Farmers interested in enrolling should send an email to climate-smart@voiceofmilk.com.

Graphic:

Climate-Smart Program project cycle

Photos:

Paul Cornette

Tim Trotter

Lauren Brey

About Edge: 

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative provides dairy farmers throughout the Midwest with a powerful voice — the voice of milk — in Congress, with customers and within our communities. Edge, based in Green Bay, Wis., is the third largest dairy cooperative in the country based on milk volume. Member farms are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. More information: www.voiceofmilk.com. 

About Farmers for Sustainable Food:  

Farmers for Sustainable Food is a collaborative, industry-supported effort to promote and support farmer-led solutions to today’s environmental challenges. The nonprofit organization empowers farmers to develop and implement practical, innovative solutions for environmental, economic and social good. More information: www.FarmersForSustainableFood.com  

Farmers show water quality improvement from conservation

Farmers show water quality improvement from conservation

 Results from three-year on-farm project released by farmer-led group.

Encouraging results from a three-year on-farm sustainability project show that implementation of conservation practices can have a lasting impact on the natural resources of the farm and surrounding areas. Most notable was that 91% of fields in the project have improved water quality by mitigating excess loss of subsurface nitrogen.

The multi-farm project in Kewaunee and Door counties analyzed 5,400 acres to demonstrate the impact conservation practices can have on both natural resources and the overall farm productivity. The project includes members from Peninsula Pride Farms, a farmer-led conservation group committed to protecting, nurturing and sustaining our precious soil, water, and air.  

The project evaluated on-farm, nationally accepted sustainability metrics from Field to Market’s: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture’s Fieldprint Platform® to better understand the impact of conservation practices on cropland. The project also uses a tool called Prioritize, Target and Measure Application for measuring the impact on local resources. The three-year findings, based on 2020-2022 data, is detailed in a 19-page report available online at farmersforsustainablefood.com/projects.

Each project participant receives their individual farm report, before the aggregate report is released, to evaluate how their fields are performing using some of Field to Market’s sustainability metrics: Biodiversity, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, land use efficiency, soil carbon, soil conservation and water quality. This report provides the foundation for individual farms to meet their individual sustainability goals.

The northeast Wisconsin project is one of several projects following a nationally recognized framework [available online at farmersforsusutainablefood.com/resources] for sustainability projects shared by Farmers for Sustainable Food and its partners. FSF is an industry-supported nonprofit that promotes and supports farmer-led solutions to today’s environmental challenges. The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit, also provides project support through funding and environmental insights.

“We had areas within our watershed where we believed improved nutrient management practices could be implemented. This project helps provide the data to show us that the increasing use of conservation practices we and other farmers have adopted, can impact the groundwater resources,” said dairy farmer Duane Ducat, a project participant and PPF president.

Data drives farm-level decisions

PPF farmers have been experimenting with a variety of practices on their farm fields to improve the soil and protect surface water and groundwater for several years. The adoption of these conservation practices is a continuous journey for Nick Guilette.

Guilette is invested in the PPF project because it focuses on important aspects of sustainability. He is using the individual farm reports to implement changes on both his family’s fourth-generation farm, Guilette Farms, and for his employer, Ebert Enterprises. He believes the project results help him make more informed crop management decisions.

As a Certified Crop Advisor at Ebert Enterprises, Guilette directly enters the farm’s crop information into Fieldprint Platform. Through this program, he can explore best management practice scenarios to model change outcomes before considering next year’s planting season. Being able to see potential outcomes based on management changes keeps the conservation needle moving forward using data to back up their decisions.

“An advantage we have is comparing metrics, not only with our peers but also against state and national benchmarks,” Guilette said. “Our individual report helped identify how intense the energy demand of nitrogen is. We are now working to find ways to use nitrogen more efficiently, like planting legume-based cover crops that could provide a nitrogen source to crops like wheat or corn.”

Continued environmental progress

One key finding was discovered by collecting and analyzing environmental information on the project farms’ footprint. The project farms showed an average energy use of 166,432 btu per ton of corn silage, which is 47% lower (better) than the national indicator.

Since 2018, PPF has grown to more than 50 farm members and has dedicated 154,000 acres to best management practices. These acres are captured through a member conservation practice survey to measure practices such as cover crops, no-tillage, reduced tillage and nutrient management. Data collected for the three-year report represents that these practices have reduced sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen losses from fields’ edges.

“The farmers involved are showing true leadership in both the adoption of conservation practices and the documentation of those efforts to understand the environmental impact,” said Lauren Brey, managing director of FSF. “It is exciting to quantify the progress they have made as a group and inspiring to see their dedication to continuous improvement. We look forward to expanding this farmer-led effort with our project funded through USDA’s Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities grant.”

Steve Richter, TNC’s director of agriculture strategies in Wisconsin, acknowledged most food and beverage companies have to work directly with their farmer producers to impact positive environmental change.  

“Collecting data to inventory what is happening on PPF member farms is a critical first step. I applaud PPF members for investing in a data collection system. It’s foundational to achieving accurate emissions inventories,” Richter said.  “I look forward to the day farmers with such data can secure financial incentives recognizing their efforts to use conservation practices.”

The project is also supported financially by Agropur, Cargill, Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Nicolet National Bank, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and Professional Dairy Producers Foundation.

Todd Doornink

Todd Doornink

Background: how you got involved with sustainability?

I am a fourth generation farmer in Wisconsin. Our family has lived and farmed here since early 1900s. Through my involvement with the Dairy Business Association, I learned about the farmer-led watershed groups forming around the state. Knowing this was a growing interest I wanted to help maintain our ability to farm in our area and help communication to the non-ag world what farmers were already doing to maintain and help water quality and soil health.

What is the mission of WWCC?

I am also the president of Western Wisconsin Conservation Council (WWCC) which is our local farmer-led watershed group. We use research, collaboration, and financial resources to promote farming best practices that keep soil healthy and water clean. Our aim is to bring benefit to the whole community while preserving family farming as a way of life.

Why did you want to be a part of FSF and serve on the board?

I wanted to help in any way I can whether that be getting the word out to more farmers or help give farmers a voice in our communities and show how farmers can be a solution and sustainable.

Why should others join FSF?

Because it includes the farmers voice that has the best interest in mind on how to improve sustainability – not only from an environmental standpoint but also community and economic standpoint.

Holly Bellmund

Holly Bellmund

  1. Background: how did you got involved with sustainability?  

I have a background in environmental engineering and came into the minerals and mining industry over twenty years ago working on compliance. Over time, businesses have evolved into the understanding that compliance is a must do to stay in business right now, but sustainability is what lets your business stay relevant in the future. About seven years ago, I worked for a public company and I was responsible for the new sustainability program and I learned about triple bottom thinking – doing right by the shareholders and employees, the customers and other community stakeholders at the same time is a winning solution. While compliance is like policing, sustainability is strategic and, when done correctly, is tied to enterprise growth. Sustainable practices are where it’s at as people, agriculture and industry compete for the same natural resources.  

 

  1. Why did you want to be a part of FSF and serve on the board?  

I wanted to serve on the FSF Board because the need to connect consumers to farmers and farmers to consumers is immediate. Consumers want to make food choices that are sustainable, but they have limited information on how to guide their purchase power. Instead, the farmers are often seen as bad guys. That could not be further from the truth – farmers sole purpose is to feed people. That was once a well-understood message that has somehow gotten lost. I would like to help FSF stay at the forefront of this issue so the US agriculture industry can continue to do what it does best – feed the world. 

 

  1. Why should others join FSF?  

If you want to be part of the conversation about how and why farmers are using both stakeholder feedback, technology and economics to drive sustainability practices and meet with people from throughout agriculture who have the same interest and want to be part of the solution, FSF is the group for you. 

 

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