Cultivating Collaboration: Partnering with Conservation Districts and Leveraging the Fieldprint Calculator to Accelerate Conservation Practices in Agriculture

Breakout session Wednesday, February 12 at 9:00 a.m.

This presentation will highlight Field to Market's tools and programs that foster collaboration among supply chain actors, conservation organizations, academia and governments. Dubuque County SWCD will present their collaborative projects with Sand County Foundation and growers in Iowa, which use our Fieldprint Calculator to measure and advance the environmental impacts of conservation practices on agricultural land.

Speaker: Sydney Mucha, Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainability Projects Manager, Haleigh Summers, Sand County Foundation, Agricultural Geospatial Data Scientist, Tessa Lightfoot, Field to Market, and Eric Schmechel

1. Cultivating Collaboration: Partnering with Conservation Districts and Leveraging the Fieldprint Calculator to Accelerate Conservation Practices in Agriculture

2. Member-based organization that brings together a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food, beverage, apparel, restaurant and retail companies, conservation groups, universities, and public sector partners to define, measure and advance the sustainability of food, feed, fiber and fuel production in the United States. By uniting the agricultural supply chain and key stakeholders around a common   measurement framework, Field to Market seeks to drive continuous improvement in the sustainability of commodity crop production. Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture FIELD TO MARKET

3. The Fieldprint Platform ®

4. FIELDPRINT PLATFORM Eight Sustainability Metrics Analyzing multiple metrics simultaneously enables farmers to consider trade-offs across sustainability outcomes: Biodiversity Energy Use Greenhouse Gas Emissions Irrigated Water Use Land Use Soil Conservation Soil Carbon Water Quality 4

5. FIELDPRINT PLATFORM Twelve Crop and Feed Pathways Barley Alfalfa Corn (for Grain & Silage) Cotton Peanuts Potatoes Rice Sorghum Soybeans Sugar Beets Wheat 5 Pulses

6. Fieldprint ® Analysis FIELDPRINT PLATFORM The Spidergram shows the sustainability performance for a farmer’s selected field. Lower values closer to the center indicate greater resource use efficiency or sustainability performance. Management information entered into the Fieldprint Platform is analyzed and transformed into a Fieldprint® Analysis , which graphically represents the sustainability performance of a farmer’s unique operation. The Analysis estimates field-level performance on our sustainability metrics.

7. FIELD TO MARKET Project Standard & Framework

8. FIELDPRINT PROJECTS Through the Project Framework, projects can… Use a process-based approach to advancing continuous improvement Harness multi-stakeholder collaboration   Advance locally-led conservation solutions Leverage a flexible approach through three unique project pathways Generate shared value and improved environmental outcomes Increase transparency to strengthen public confidence through credible action

9. Benefits of Fieldprint Projects FIELDPRINT PROJECTS Market Access and Differentiation Corporate ESG Reporting Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration Supply Chain Transparency Data Driven Decision Making

10. FIELD TO MARKET PROJECT FRAMEWORK 66 projects 30+ states > 6 million acres

11. Two Fieldprint Projects: Dubuque Batch and Build Drone Cover Crops Dubuque Ecosystem Farm Management Model Collaboration Spotlight: Sand County Foundation & Dubuque County Soil and Water Conservation District FIELDPRINT PROJECTS

12. Sand County Foundation a national nonprofit working at the intersection of agriculture and environmental improvement. 12

13. “we can only be ethical in relation to something we can see, understand, feel, love, or otherwise have faith in.” -Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949 A Land Ethic Our moral code of conduct

14. Advancing Farmer-Led Incentives in the Midwest A new NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) award Support groups that fit Wisconsin’s “producer-led” model Start new farmer-led groups in Illinois and Iowa Allow creative financial incentives Increase soil health and continuous living cover

15. Advancing Farmer-Led Incentives in the Midwest

16. Dubuque SWCD – 28e agreement

17. Field Days Annual Conference Bi-monthly meetings 501c3 Non-Profit Membership Levels = Funding Incentives Focused Practices = Cover Crops, Small Grain Incentives, No-Till, Nutrient Management Growing the F2F Network

18. Programs…Programs and More Programs – How are we aligning and engaging with the agricultural community?

19. Soil & Water Outcomes Fund (2022)

20. Challenges to Cover Crops… Not Enough Time… To plant To grow They are put on too late in the season They are put on too late in the season Too Cold Hassle Effect (sign up, payment, receipts) Streamline the process = Facilitation for Growers One-time sign-up and Done.

21. Drone Seeding Cover Crop Program Free to Producers 200-acre limit per Producer Four seed options to choose from:     1) Premium Mix (60 lbs /acre) Rye, Crimson Clover, Winter Camelina, and Dwarf Rapeseed   2) Winter Kill Mix (75 lbs /acre) Oats, Radishes, Dwarf Rapeseed   3) Rye (1.5 bu /acre)   4) Oats (2 bu /acre) Sign up period was March-April (2024)

22. RFB Process (2024)

23. Planting Details Planting occurred between August 10 - October 10 4 drone pilots flew on 8,514 acres 75 Producers 538,524 lbs. of seed applied *Includes a termination cost of $19.33/acre Total Cost per Acre EQIP Rates (75%) Premium Mix $47.00 $76.91* Winter Kill $48.13 $42.27 Rye $39.35 $61.48*

24. Premium Mix: 6,591 acres seeded

25. Winter Kill Mix: 1,497 acres seeded

26. 2025 Drone Program

27. RCPP Required Reporting Resource Concerns Reporting Metrics

28. Goals for Metric Reporting Software

29. Using the FieldPrint Platform

30. Dubuque Ecosystem Farm Management Model Start with 10 farmers who are already doing the right things… Create an “Outcomes-Based” model

31. Planning an Outcomes-Based Model Work with the farmer-to-farmer group to determine an ideal payment structure. What payment rate will be enticing for farmers, but cost-effective for the project? Potential Fieldprint Platform Metrics to Pay On:   Water Quality   Soil Erosion   Soil Carbon   Biodiversity   Greenhouse Gas Emissions

32. Dubuque Cover Crop Batch & Build Goals of analysis: Understand change between farmers’ previous management compared to the drone-seeded cover crops Easy data entry & less farmer hassle Default Values/Assumptions: Reduced tillage County average yield No nutrient or pesticide applications

33. Dubuque Cover Crop Batch & Build Preliminary Results (10/75 farmers)

34. Dubuque County Fieldprint Projects Ecosystem Farm Management Model Farmers enter data for the whole farm (with help from agronomist) Farmers will be paid using an “Outcomes-Based” model Able to quantify field-specific benefits of practice change 10 farmers 1,750 acres Batch & Build Cover Crops Project administrators enter data using bulk upload feature Most data is defaulted , to only focus on the changes made by the cover crop Less hassle for farmer 76 farmers 8,500 acres

35. Strengthening Grassroots Leadership & Capacity to Scale Climate-Smart Systems and Facilitate Historically Underserved Producers' Access to Markets NACD GRANT Field to Market's role in supporting NACD's goals: Identify collaboration opportunities between districts and FTM members Build capacity through training Facilitate district involvement in Fieldprint Projects

36. Project Lead funds grower & district participation Districts help recruit growers to participate in projects FTM provides trainings & support for district staff Districts assist with data entry into the Fieldprint Platform Growers measure the environmental impacts of their crop production Project Lead reports projects' environmental outcomes Vision for Project Collaboration NACD GRANT

37. Interested in collaborating? Contact us for more information! Tessa Lightfoot [email protected] Sydney Mucha [email protected] Eric Schmechel   [email protected] Haleigh Summers [email protected]

38. Questions?