More than one year ago, Tate and Lyle, a leading global provider of food and beverage ingredients and Land O’ Lakes SUSTAIN, began a relationship to advance conservation practices. Flash forward to this year, and the two have announced a sustainability initiative on 1.5 million acres of corn in the U.S.
According to Matt Carstens, senior vice president of Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN, is this partnership will help connect farmers and consumers.
“It takes one step further, not just working with farmers on a balance of profit and the environment, but it also allows us to take that step downstream to the consumer,” said Carstens.
Tate and Lyle and Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN are using the Truterra Insights Engine to gather data to help farmers target and measure the impact of their efforts to protect the environment.
‘’We have to be able to deal with weather and put those into the technologies we have today to be able to best guide the farmers on that journey with a close eye on profitability,” said Carstens.
The 2020 program will be based off 2019 yields and data. With 2019 being an abnormal year, Carstens said it will be easy to show improvement next year.
“The enrollment starts with using the baseline of what farmers have done in 2019, but it really focuses on the continuous improvement of what happened in 2019 versus the improvements that were made by farmers in 2020,” he said.
By being part of this project, Carstens is encouraged this will be a benefit for both consumers and farmers, and will close the farmer-consumer gap.
“I want to see Michigan farmers, farmers in the U.S. in general, really continue to improve profit while advancing the environment,” he said. “When those happen, I don’t see where there’s a single loss that we’re going to experience.”
To enroll in the program, talk to your local ag retailer or visit Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN.
