New Supply Chain Sustainability Program for U.S. Crops Supported by DU

Today, Field to Market, the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture announced the launch of a new agricultural supply chain program for U.S. commodity crops. The Field to Market metrics and benchmarks, developed through a multi-stakeholder process over the past several years, will become an important platform for measuring, promoting and reporting continuous improvement in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, potatoes and other crops related to seven sustainability indicators: land use, soil conservation, soil carbon, irrigated water use, water quality, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The new program will focus on measuring current sustainability outcomes, promoting continuous improvement at the field and landscape level, and enabling supply chain sourcing claims.

“The announcement signals a major commitment from members to address supply chain sustainability in a manner that is transparent, grounded in science, focused on outcomes and open to a full range of technology choices while considering productivity, environmental quality and human well-being,” said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market.

Field to Market’s new program framework comes with the support and participation of some of the most prominent members of the food, environmental and agriculture sector, including Ducks Unlimited.

“Ducks Unlimited is actively engaged in improving working lands for waterfowl so farmers can stay on the land and continue producing vital food resources while maintaining environmental sustainability and enhancing wildlife habitat,” said DU CEO Dale Hall. “In particular, our winter wheat and rice ag programs have been very successful in providing habitat for waterfowl and increased profitability for producers.”

The membership of Field to Market includes:

Agrium US, Inc.; American Crystal Sugar Company; American Farm Bureau Federation; American Soybean Association; Archer Daniels Midland Company; Bayer CropScience; BASF; Biotechnology Industry Organization; Bunge; Cargill; CHS, Inc.; Conservation Technology Information Center; Cotton Incorporated; CropLife America; CropLife International; Ducks Unlimited; Dow AgroSciences; DuPont Pioneer; Environmental Defense Fund; FleishmanHillard; The Freshwater Trust; General Mills; Illinois Soybean Association; Indiana Soybean Alliance; International Plant Nutrition Institute; Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy; John Deere; Kellogg Company; Land O’Lakes; McDonald’s Corporation; Monsanto Company; National Association of Wheat Growers; National Association of Conservation Districts; National Corn Growers Association; National Cotton Council of America; National Potato Council; North Carolina State University; Penton Media; Procter & Gamble; The Fertilizer Institute; The Coca-Cola Company; The Nature Conservancy; The Mosaic Company; Simplot; Syngenta Corporation; Thompson Coburn LLP; Unilever; United Soybean Board; University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; USA Rice Federation; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; US Soybean Exchange Council; Van Buren Conservation District; Walmart; World Resources Institute; World Wildlife Fund – US.

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU got its start in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to multilaterally deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.