Potato Expo session looks at next steps on climate change, sustainability

Unity among agriculture advocates and growers is necessary to successfully navigate new public and private initiatives for climate change and sustainability.

That was one conclusion of a panel of speakers on Jan. 5 at the virtual 2021 Virtual Potato Expo.

Mike Wenkel, chief operating officer of the National Potato Council, moderated the panel, with these participants:

• Barb Glenn, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture;
• Brandy Wilson, global sustainability director for the JR Simplot Co.;
• Chuck Conner, CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; and 
•  Rod Snyder, president and CEO of Field to Market.

Wenkel said sustainability efforts within the potato industry are now being coordinated by the Potato Sustainability Alliance.

“The NPC is proud to be engaged with this new organization in defining our sectors role in what sustainability means,” he said.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in 2019 adopted policies supporting climate resiliency and adaptation, Glenn said.

“We were very excited about having a unanimous vote on that policy; we came together on a modernized policy supporting the need for new action on resiliency and adaptation,” she said. The group is a founding member of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance.

Conner said the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, also a founding member of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, is committed to convey what initiatives will work for farmers and which ones won’t.

“I tell my members that I think at the end of the day, this debate on climate and sustainability should not be feared,” Conner said. “And we actually may end up doing quite well and providing some economic opportunities for farmers in rural America in the process.”

The creation of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance is an effort to speak in a united voice for American agriculture.

“What we’re doing is we’re trying to pull this together to where agriculture is speaking as one large, united voice,” he said. “And I tell my members that I’ve had a 40-year career and I have yet to see (agriculture) lose a debate when we’re speaking with a united front. No one in America wants to be against farmers in rural America. Where we get in trouble is where everybody gets pretty independent and starts doing their own thing.”

Conner said that it is likely that Congress will enact climate legislation.

“We’ve got to be ready for this, and I look forward to working with each one of you and all the organizations represented here to make this a positive thing for American agriculture.”

Snyder said Field to Market is the largest multi-stakeholder initiative that’s working on the sustainability of commodity crop production in the U.S. The organization is focused on private sector supply chain initiatives relating to climate change and other environmental effects.

“Over the last decade, we’ve been able to establish consensus-based metrics that help us to measure progress against goals around environmental impacts like greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, water quality and more,” he said. “We have nearly 70 supply chain projects active across the country.”

He said there are nearly 90 companies across the group’s membership that have set some kind of climate commitment.

One of the chief challenges of sustainability initiatives is the struggling farm economy, Snyder said. While some climate-smart agriculture measures can also increase efficiency, other practices require growers to take on additional risk or costs.

“When you’re in a challenging economic situation with U.S. agriculture, the farmer can’t bear all of that alone,” he said. “I think one of the biggest challenges right now is how  we align these supply chain goals around programs that will help support and incentivize farmers on the private sector side to help meet these goals and commitments. “

Wilson said JR Simplot has a goal to reduce energy and water use by 15% per ton of product, reduce carbon emissions by 20% and achieve zero waste to landfills from the company’s processing plants by 2030. The company works with growers to set collaborative goals, she said.

Conner said agriculture will ultimately benefit from climate change initiatives.

“I think there’s potential here for a win-win circumstance, on an issue that 10 years ago had us all diving for cover and burying our heads in the sand,” he said. “We’re not doing that this time and I feel good about that.”