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Mar. 8, 2023 Source: blog by C.O.nxt Not long ago environmental organizations and farmer groups were in vehement opposition to each other. Environmental groups saw farmers as polluters. Farmers saw environmental groups as tree huggers destined to put them out of business. And ne'er in the twain did they meet. Today those stigmas are a thing of the past, and we have sustainability to thank. Environmental groups realized that most farmers were actually good land stewards, and educational programs could help farmers do an even better job. Farmers realized that they shared some of the same values as the environmental groups and agreed to meet on common ground. This is the future of agriculture, working in a broader network with more partners. There're opportunities for symbiotic relationships. Farmers need resources to help accomplish sustainability projects, and it can be hard for them to find organizations that can help. Likewise, the organizations with the resources have a hard time finding farmers to partner with. These unique unions are coming to life in the partnerships formed through the recent Climate-Smart funding. The Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities is a USDA-funded effort to combat climate change using collaborations with public and private partnerships across agriculture, forestry and rural communities. One of those projects is with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative. The project will expand climate-smart markets and establish dairy and sugar as climate-smart commodities by implementing climate-smart production practices, improving business practices and making use of data and information collected to inform future standards. A total of 15 partners are part of the project. "By expanding our network of partnerships through the Climate Smart funding program we're going to bring that much more value and resources to farmers to have at their disposal," says Lauren Brey, managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Food, a sister organization to Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and partner in the grant. "Farmers may not consider some of the partners we have involved as opportunities while those same partners are desperate to work with more farmers. So we're happy to be able to make those connections." Two of those partners are The Nature Conservancy and Houston Engineering, Inc. The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation non-profit organization that helps solve environmental challenges in forests, cities, agriculture and more. The organization is supported through the generosity of citizens. The organization's emphasis on science is attractive to corporations that realize they have a big role to play in addressing environmental challenges and enhancing the productivity of crop fields and pastures across the world. The Wisconsin chapter of The Nature Conservancy has been working with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative since 2015. "We realize that we need to help farmers become leaders and have a seat at the table when it comes to conservation practices on the farm," says Steve Richter, director of agriculture strategies with The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin. To read the entire report click here. Tweet |
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