<b>By DOUG SCHMITZ<br>
Iowa Correspondent</b></p><p>

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a collaborative effort to identify practices for increasing production agriculture sustainability, with the focus on results, the National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA), U.S. farmers and several agribusiness and conservation groups teamed up to launch the Agriculture Sustainability Initiative.<br>

“Growers have been involved in creating the initiative through grower associations and have helped identify technology-neutral criteria for increased sustainable production,” said Ron Litterer, NCGA president and a Greene, Iowa, corn and soybean grower, at a news conference during Commodity Classic, held Feb. 28-March 1 in Nashville.<br>

“Moving forward, growers will be the backbone of the effort as we review our operations, compared to the industry-wide index, and discuss what best practices make sense on our individual farms in order to continue building on the efficiencies we’ve generated in recent years,” he said.<br>

Birthed in September 2006, the Agriculture Sustainability Initiative’s initial focus will be on creating a sustainability index to measure and track the impact of agriculture with respect to the environment and natural resource sustainability. As a result, the prototype index will analyze and report use of land, water, energy, greenhouse gas emissions and crop production inputs in four key commodity crops – corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat.<br>

“Soybeans have witnessed long-term, sustained growth, while corn and cotton have also seen gains over the past 10 years,” said John Hoffman, president of the American Soybean Assoc. and a Waterloo, Iowa, farmer. “New technologies and better plant genetics have helped us increase yields and reduce trips over the field for tillage, weed and insect control.”<br>

Jason Clay, senior vice president of market transformation for World Wildlife Fund, said continued improvements in efficient land use will be critical “if we’re going to meet the ever-growing demand for food and fiber without putting more pressure on our environmental resources.”<br>

Sarah Stokes Alexander, director of sustainability and leadership programs for The Keystone Center – the nonprofit group which spearheaded the initiative and will continue to facilitate its daily operations – said sustainability is becoming increasingly important to consumers as they make their food choices.<br>

“By creating this coalition, participants throughout the food supply chain are demonstrating their ongoing commitment to increasing productivity to meet future food and fiber needs while decreasing impacts on the environment,” she said.<br>

“Grower organizations and their leadership have been an integral and important part of the initiative. They have been members from the beginning and their input, participation and direct involvement will continue to be essential to the effort.”<br>

This spring, the initiative will be piloting the grower sustainability tool with the goal of helping growers evaluate their individual operations against the industry-wide index, which Litterer said would also provide a library of information to assist growers in further improving their sustainability practices.<br>

“Farmers have always considered themselves environmental stewards and have substantially improved production practices and efficiencies over the years,” he said. “Moving forward, growers must do even more to lead sustainable change in our food production for the benefit of future generations.”<br>

Jeffrey Barach, vice president and director of the Center for Technical and Laboratory Services for the Grocery Manufacturers Assoc., said this new index will help growers quantify and demonstrate their care for the environment, as well as share best practices.<br>
Barach added the grower sustainability tool will be constructed to maintain individual confidentiality, designed to document accelerated improvements throughout the food and fiber production system.<br>

“This initiative is also important to food companies and retailers who are beginning to document the footprint of their production and operations,” he said. “Together we can deliver better decision-making throughout the supply chain and help meet the goal of a more sustainable food and fiber production system.”<br>

As the nation’s leading corn, soybean and biofuel producer, Iowa will play a pivotal role in the initiative’s daily implementation and operation, Litterer said.<br>

“Iowa will be one of four states where growers will be piloting the grower assessment tool this spring and summer,” he said. “The group will be seeking feedback from producers about this online tool to improve and make it as user-friendly as possible for growers before rolling it out nationwide later this year.<br>

“As the nation’s leading corn-producing state, it will be important that Iowa growers participate in the assessment and share their best practices with other growers across the state and country once the tool is more widely available.”<br>

The NCGA stated an initial report is expected to be released this summer and will serve as a roadmap for growers to track their own progress, with future reports tracking economic and social measures of agriculture sustainability to help meet global food and fiber demands. The initiative will meet in Washington, D.C., in September to continue its work on the pilot program development.