Letter from Leadership — Climate-smart

Last September, USDA announced the initial group of grant recipients through their Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. As you know, Edge and several key partners were named the recipient of up to $50 million to fund sustainability projects that reduce farmers’ carbon footprint, document improvements and demonstrate value in the supply chain.

For far too long, critics have placed blame on agriculture and dairy when it comes to climate change. But we know our farmers can and will be part of the solution. This is evident with the great work being done across our market region through the Farmers for Sustainable partnering conservations group. Our new initiative will build on their success and identify more farms that see the benefit of implementing practices that strengthen both the environment and our farms, a win-win for agriculture and the public.

We have seen increased interest from farms across the Upper Midwest to take action. From reducing tillage and planting cover crops to installing methane digesters and using precision agriculture tools, farmers are finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining profitability.

But we know that we can do even more.

I am excited about the work that lies ahead of us. A few details remain to work out with USDA regarding our program, but the outlook is clear. 2023 will mark a milestone moment for our farmers and partners. There will be more to come in the very near future; stay tuned as we can share more.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without your guidance. Every day, I am continually reminded of how blessed this organization is to have such visionary leadership. When others saw only roadblocks, you saw a road map to success. Thank you for your continued support and for all you do on your farms and within your local communities. 

Together, we will continue leading the way and show that farmers can be both profitable and sustainable.