The average farmer fed 26 people in 1960. That number is now 155. In fact, a farmer today grows twice as much food as the last generation and does it while using less land, water, and energy while producing less emissions.
This is the definition of sustainability.
But that word is under fire. Grant applications that use it are less likely to get funded and positions with it in the title are being reduced across the public and private sectors.
Sustainability is Sustainable
What’s not happening is a reduction in actual sustainability practices. Ancient techniques like crop rotation, minimum tillage, and spoon-feeding nutrients are still major elements of modern farming. Farmers also use modern technology like drones to reduce fuel usage while applying crop inputs. They use precision applications of herbicide and pesticide to reduce chemical usage. Breeders use the most modern breeding techniques to improve yield and crop resilience to deliver more food and feed per acre.
The practices aren’t stopping because they work!
Sustainable practices aren’t just about the environment. They’re also about farm profitability, reducing labor costs, reducing power consumption, and doing what’s necessary to ensure the operation survives through a changing climate, competitive landscape, and reshuffling of the global political deck.
The Sun Still Shines
At Gro Alliance, we’re continuing our sustainability efforts too. We just started construction of a nearly $1 million solar panel array that will cover the South-facing roofs of three warehouses at our Cuba City, WI seed production location. It will generate nearly 550 kWh that will reduce our energy usage and allow us to sell excess electricity back to the grid and power dozens of homes in Cuba City.
Creating Real Efficiency
The efforts that DOGE has undertaken to reduce wasteful spending and fraud are needed to create a more efficient government. But all involved need to be cognizant of the benefits that many government programs create and not just cancel them without a thoughtful examination.
We’re grateful to Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, for reinstating the USDA REAP grants that were paused earlier this year…our solar panel project being one of them. Many are perfect examples of how $1 of private sector investment paired with $1 of federal investment yields $3 for the country today, and much more in the future.
Projects and practices that can make 1+1=3 are exactly how we’ll continue to advance the world’s most efficient, safe, and sustainable food, feed, fuel, and fiber production system.
