Building trust in food begins with empowering farmers through one of the largest and most diverse conservation- and sustainability-focused public-private partnerships in our nation’s history: America’s Conservation Ag Movement. To find the latest news and resources related to the Movement, visit AgWeb.com/ACAM.
With more Americans eating at home, many are interested in how their food is produced, processed and distributed.
That requires openness on the part of farmers, according to Lucy Stitzer, founder of Dirt-To-Dinner, a blog focused on various food topics.
“The consumer wants not just abundance, but transparency too,” Stitzer says.
Information Bridge
Record keeping can jump-start the process, says Ken McCarty, McCarty Farms.
“I think it’s the baseline all farmers need to begin with,” says McCarty, whose operation is made up of five dairy farms and a milking herd of 13,000 cows.
Empirical data provides a foundation of facts farmers can use to start sharing their specific stories.
“It can be as simple as using your smartphone to take photos of implementing no-till practices on your farm,” he says.
Maintaining digital records can also help you take the second step in the process of transparency, which McCarty refers to as the verification process.
“Without solid record keeping it’s very difficult to undergo the various animal welfare audits or environmental sustainability audits,” he explains.
Middle Ground
As farmers work to connect with consumers, McCarty says to consider additional, less traditional ways to reach them.
“The initial idea is to go to the person sitting at their kitchen table, but there’s some middle ground, and it can be a bit more efficient — like what does Walmart want, what does Kroger want,” he says. “I can have a clearer picture of where I need to position my business and my practices by trying to understand their goals and objectives,” he says.
Non-mandated sustainability reporting can be complex and unfamiliar. To learn how to start the process, visit AgWeb.com/esg-reporting
