The Packer’s Sustainable Insights survey showed that the three things growers associate with sustainability can be summarized with one theme — keeping the farm for the long run.
The three themes that growers associate most with sustainability were:
- Essential for long term viability: 61%;
- Natural resource stewardship: 58%; and
- Being able to pass the farm on to another generation (58%).
Growers largely associate positive results with sustainability practices, though some associate sustainability with increased costs and a decrease in profits.
After those top three answers, growers cited the following associated themes with sustainability:
- Environmental protection: 49%;
- Improved market access: 36%;
- Increase in profit: 31%;
- Pride: 25%;
- Cost increases: 23%;
- Cost decrease: 18%;
- Required: 18%;
- Decrease in profit: 8%;
- Damaging to long-term viability: 7%;
- Environmental degradation: 7%; and
- Other: 6%.
When asked to name the “other” answer, respondents said:
- Customer and consumer satisfaction;
- Able to make a decent living;
- Pay bills and survive;
- Regenerative agriculture that is profitable; and
> Buzzword.
