Achievements on the farm often go unnoticed and unheralded in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. On Tuesday, three leaders for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) took a few minutes to reflect on U.S. farmer sustainability successes since 1980 and also looked ahead to five goals the farmer-led organization expects to achieve by 2030.
“Today is a very critical time. The (Biden) administration has given a sustainability definition to the landscape, so it’s really important that we as growers take this opportunity to communicate as well, because sustainability is on everyone’s mind,” said John Linder, a farmer from Edison, Ohio, and NCGA president.
Joining Linder for the online announcement and discussion were Patty Mann, an Ohio farmer and vice chair of the NCGA production technology access action team, and Deb Gangwish, a Shelton, Neb., farmer and NCGA corn board member.
The NCGA released a 24-page report that details its sustainability successes and goals for the future. The report is available at https://bit.ly/3coWgUE
Specific U.S. farmer accomplishments* in the past 40 years the trio detailed included the:
58% reduction in soil loss per acre
46% improvement in irrigation efficiencies, leading to per-bushel declines in irrigation water use
41% decrease in the amount of land required to produce a bushel of corn
41% improved energy use efficiency per bushel
31% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per bushel
Along with those accomplishments, 18 months ago, NCGA farmer leaders set about establishing five environmental, national efficiency goals to further enhance corn production sustainability in the United States by 2030. They are:
Increase land-use efficiency by 12%.
Increase irrigation water use efficiency by 15%.
Reduce soil erosion by 13%.
Increase energy use efficiency by 13%.
Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 13%.
The association formed a Corn Sustainability Advisory Group in 2019 to proactively drive the U.S. corn sustainability story and ensure continued demand for the crop. The goals were approved by the NCGA Corn Board earlier this year.
Chip Flory had a discussion with Linder during AgriTalk. You can hear their interchange below:
*Source: Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, 2016. Environmental and Socioeconomic Indicators for Measuring Outcomes of On Farm Agricultural Production in the United States (Third Edition).
