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Sustainability Management 2009
Monsanto Mississippi River Partnership Project
Monsanto and CI Partner to Conserve Biodiversity
Biotech Soybeans Spur No-Till Farming in U.S.
Biotech Seeds Reduce Pesticides, Cut Emissions
Produce More
Helping farmers meet the needs of a growing planet.
Improve Farmers' Lives
Increasing incomes and standards of living.
Monsanto is a proud member of Field to Market: The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture—a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies, economists and conservation groups focused on defining, measuring and improving food sustainability and fiber production.
Field to Market is facilitated by the Keystone Center, a non-profit organization specializing in collaborative decision-making processes for environment, energy, and health policy issues.
Field to Market encourages industry-wide dialogue, grounded in science. The group is open to a full range of technology choices that improve productivity, environmental quality, human well being and access to safe, nutritious food.
Partnerships like the Field to Market are critical in addressing the current and future demand for food. The United Nations estimates that by 2050 the world population will exceed 9 billion. Food production will need to double to keep pace with the population growth.
Field to Market focuses on identifying solutions to help meet this challenge. This includes providing growers and groups in the supply chain with measurement tools and resources that track continuous improvement against key environmental outcomes. In 2009, Field to Market introduced the Environmental Indicators Report, which looks at national-scale metrics for land use, water use, energy use, soil loss, and climate impact in corn, soy, cotton, and wheat production.
This year, Field to Market also introduced the Fieldprint Calculator—a tool designed to help growers evaluate their operations, compared to industry averages, by analyzing natural resource use (like topsoil and water) and key crop production inputs (like energy and crop protection products). The calculator also allows growers to save their data, which can help them identify potential areas for increased efficiency and profit on their farms.
By building awareness around these issues and sharing best practices, Field to Market hopes to document accelerated improvements throughout the agriculture supply chain, and help future generations enjoy the vital products of agriculture and an ever-improving environment.
Monsanto is one of several members of the Field to Market partnership. Other members include:
American Farm Bureau Federation; American Farmland Trust, American Soybean Association; Bayer CropScience; Bunge; Cargill, Incorporated; Conservation International; Conservation Technology Information Center; Cotton Incorporated; CropLife America, CropLife International, Dairy Management Inc.; Darden Restaurants, DuPont; Environmental Defense Fund, Fleishman-Hillard; General Mills; Grocery Manufacturers Association; John Deere; Kellogg Company; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences; Mars, Incorporated; National Association of Conservation Districts; National Association of Wheat Growers; National Corn Growers Association; National Cotton Council of America; National Potato Council; Syngenta Corporation; The Coca-Cola Company; The Fertilizer Institute; The Irrigation Association; The Nature Conservancy; United Soybean Board; University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; USA Rice Federation; World Resources Institute; and World Wildlife Fund.
