通用磨坊is launching a pilot program that will help transition Kansas wheat farms from conventional to regenerative farming. The three-year pilot taking place around the Cheney Reservoir watershed will support 24 farmers learning how to use regenerative farming to improve soil health and increase revenue.
“我们要投资于农民的长期可持续性以及整个食品系统所依赖的自然资源的长期可持续性,”该公司再生农业计划的一般磨坊的土壤科学家Steve Rosenzweig说。“Regenerative agriculturecan really address the… negative trends in soil health, biodiversity, and the pressures on the farm economy that threaten the long-term security of the food system.”
Participating farmers will learn and adopt General Mills’ssix pillars再生耕作:减少干扰,最大化多样性,保持一整年的生命,保持土壤覆盖,整合牲畜并理解环境。罗森茨威格(Rosenzweig)表示,最近增加了支柱“理解环境”,并专注于根据个人农场的需求应用其他五个支柱。Rosenzweig告诉Food Tank,该公司对“健康生态系统,可持续气候,健康的流域和繁荣的农民”的愿望驱动了该公司对再生农业的投资。w88优德老虎机平台
对于试点计划,General Mills与来自再生农业顾问合作了解AG以及它的土壤健康学院,该倡议教会农民如何建立土壤健康并利用其经济优势。该学院的教练包括当地的再生农民,他们将通过制定适合其农场的再生农业计划一对一地走动飞行员。教练还将帮助试点参与者通过社交网络和建立一个再生农民社区。
“One thing we hear all the time from regenerative farmers is that they… feel like they’re the only ones in their communities doing this,” Rosenzweig tells Food Tank. “A lot of farmers have lost friends because they’re completely changing the way they farm and that can be ostracizing in a farming community.”
通用磨坊believes helping their pilot participants feel like they are moving down this path together will help them learn more from one another. “Farmers learn best from other farmers that share the same climatic and economic conditions,” says Rosenzweig.
The program also aims to incentivize farmers to participate in ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas reduction, water quality improvements, and water quantity reduction. Agriculture is about 50 percent of General Mills’s greenhouse gas footprint, according to Rosenzweig.
Pilot participants will partake in an生态系统服务市场that will pay them for activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to healthier soil and waterways. General Mills believes that providing ecosystem services is also a financial imperative for farmers. “As you restore your ecosystem, you can maintain productivity while reducing your reliance on external inputs” resulting in fewer expenses and increased profit, Rosenzweig tells Food Tank.
米尔斯将军希望鼓励农民到2030年将100万英亩的土地过渡到再生耕作,这是由于市场基于市场的激励措施,再生农民社区以及当地知识基础,其试点计划旨在实现。
Rosenzweig表示,米尔斯将军扮演筹款人和“推动者”,召集了合适的合作伙伴,为再生农业的广泛成功做出了贡献。该计划是“整个食品系统的试点……弄清楚所有这些不同的食品系统参与者组合以实现再生Ag采用的需要,” Rosenzweig说。