The second day of the Bayer AgVocacy Forum, Feb. 26, in Anaheim, California, took a close look at the coalitions needed to bring advancements to farmers and consumers around the world.
From looking at the Soil Health Partnership initiative through the National Corn Growers Association and its long-term goals for farm and environmental interests, to discussing initiatives globally and domestically to feed a growing planet, the day’s theme was clear. To make change, industry, governments, and non-profit entities must work together.
Nick Goeser, director of the Soil Health Partnership joined Trey Hill, a Maryland farmer and Moira Mcdonald, program officer for the Walton Family Foundation in explaining the role of soil health in improving farm productivity and relationships with environmental groups.
Farming near the Chesapeake Bay, Hill and his family chose to collaborate with environmental groups like Riverkeepers rather than treat them as adversaries. By opening up their farm and being transparent about their farming methods and their reasons for using them, Hill said he’s been able to educate and build trust.
“My dad said we need to get these folks out here and explain how and why we do things,” Hill said. “We needed to show them that we aren’t just out here in bib overalls and going at it. But rather that this is technical and we utilize data and technology. And then they get excited.”
Using a scientific approach to gathering data about soil health is vital to giving credibility to the results seen in the field, Goeser explained. Hill, who leases a lot of ground from tertiary generations of families removed from production agriculture, said being able to quantify results to a non-farming audience gives him a competitive advantage for land.
“I rent from folks who live in D.C. or New York City, and by differentiating myself as someone who cares for the soils, gives me a competitive advantage for land,” Hill said. By being that farmer who looks at environmental consequences and looking at consumer-driven demand for environmental tactics on the farm, it’s one thing that sets him apart.
Mcdonald has spent a career working on defining soil health and said that it’s incredibly exciting that the conversation is going beyond agriculture’s borders. But there’s still work to do to define soil health so that there’s consistent measurements, but it’s encouraging to see innovation coming.
“We’re still building the airplane as we fly it, but we’re making progress,” she said.
Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or [email protected].
