Johnson keynotes summit

BY CHRIS AARHUS, NDFU

Zach Johnson is all about educating consumers.

Known as “The Millennial Farmer,” to his 900,000 followers on social media, Johnson spoke about his journey from young farmer to ag star at the Evolution Ag Summit, hosted by North Dakota Farmers Union on Feb. 21 in Jamestown.

The summit was co-titled, “The Carbon Conundrum” for its focus on low-carbon farming practices that could benefit farmers and ranchers now and in the future.

Johnson shared his efforts to educate consumers through social media, pointing out how much different today’s environment is from 100 years ago.

“At that time, about 40% of Americans were actually farmers,” he said. “And even if you weren’t a farmer, you certainly knew farmers and you understood a little bit about farming and what it brings to the country and the value of it.”

Today, farmers make up less than 1% of the nation’s population, and Johnson said negative information on the internet has led to a disconnect between producers and consumers. He cited his personal experiences in this area that led to the formation of his social media channels.

“It was a light bulb moment,” he said. “I wanted to be transparent about what we’re doing. So when we plant GMO (crops), I talk about it. I tell people why we’re using those seeds. And I talk about why we install drain tile, and how it improves our holding capacity in our soil and how the nutrients stay more stable and how we’re not just draining wetlands.”

Johnson also spoke to generational differences including that of his namesake and some of the criticisms they hear.

“When I started my channel, millennial was a huge buzzword, and for the most part, it was negative,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of hard-working millennials that take pride in what they do. It’s like every generation. Just because some of us do things a little bit differently doesn’t mean that we’re doing it wrong.”

Johnson closed by encouraging all producers to reach out to the public in some fashion.

“If you can, think of a way to be a positive voice for this industry,” he said. “People want to hear from us. What we do is trendy. That doesn’t mean you have to start a YouTube channel or a Facebook page. Maybe it means you give the kindergarten class a tour of your farm, or you let them come in and feed a calf. Whatever you can think of. We have a better opportunity than ever right now.”

Carbon 101

Dr. David Ripplinger, a bioeconomist for North Dakota State University, started the summit by giving a rundown of what corporations are doing to lower their carbon footprint and how that could benefit America’s producers.

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is a rule originally introduced in California in 2007 that continues to be adopted by other states. He said the LCFS will require a steady increase in the amount of biodiesel and renewable diesel. Biodiesel is a blend of feedstocks and petroleum diesel similar to ethanol, while renewable diesel is made purely from feedstocks such as soybean and canola oil. As more states adopt the LCFS, prices for commodities like soybean and canola will remain strong, Ripplinger said.

Ripplinger outlined how investment companies now use Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) reporting when choosing to invest in projects. Companies that consider environmental and social factors are more likely to receive funding, as part of a bigger effort to improve corporate responsibility.

That plays into the carbon offset market, where producers could benefit, Ripplinger said. Corporations like Disney, Apple and Microsoft will be looking to offset their carbon footprint by paying producers to undertake practices such as no-till, cover crops and manure management.

“This isn’t going away,” he said. “We had some activity on this 15 years ago, and it went away. This time, it’s much stronger and much more widespread.”

Sustainability

Bushel CEO Jake Joraanstad moderated a panel on sustainability commitments and supply chains with Kevin Hall of CHS, Colin Beal of Low Carbon Beef, LLC, and Nikki Zahradka of Anheuser-Busch.

Zahradka, whose position is U.S. director of agronomy, said Anheuser-Busch set sustainability goals five years ago for year 2025 that it hopes to meet.

“It’s really around water stewardship,” she said. “Making sure all of our facilities are working on water efficiency and reducing water usage. We also have a goal of 25% less emissions throughout our value chain. And we have our Smart Agriculture goal, and that is to have 100% of our growers to be skilled in growing efficiently, effectively and economically. This is important to us. We want to be net zero (on carbon).”

With more companies looking to reduce emissions from their supply chains, Beal founded a company that certifies cattle raised with low-carbon practices. Ranchers willing to undertake these practices receive a premium for the beef.

“Companies like Tyson are looking for this, so that’s what we’re trying to provide,” he said. “When I started this, there were a lot of articles about how cattle were ruining the world. I had colleagues that stopped eating beef because of environmental impacts. So for me, it was about adding value for producers who are able to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and also provide consumers with more confidence in what they’re purchasing.”

Hall, who is vice president of supply chain and continuous improvement for CHS, said the nation’s largest cooperative is committed to sustainability, coming out with its first sustainability report last year. He added that their goal is to make sure co-op members have a seat at the table during these discussions.

“We want to make sure that we have a voice, and we’re part of the conversation,” he said, “and that we’re representing our members whenever things are moving in the direction that will change how we do business. And where we do business. And we’re committed to making sure that it makes economic sense.”

Renewables

Ripplinger led a discussion on renewable energy with Kent Engelbrecht of ADM and Adam Dunlop of Midwest Ag Energy, who both said carbon sequestration is part of their operations.

“Carbon and carbon intensity is a fundamental element of who we are and what we’re doing,” Dunlop said.

Engelbrecht said ADM, which is completing a soybean crushing plant in Spiritwood, contributes soybean oil to renewable diesel. He emphasized that biodiesel is still a major player in the renewables market and that will continue to be the case for some time, especially while the infrastructure for renewable diesel steadily comes online.

“Biodiesel is here right now,” he said. “It’s been part of our past, and it’ll be part of our future.”

Dunlop said areas of the private sector are making the leap toward sustainable fuel without government mandates or an LCFS.

“There is no sustainable aviation fuel mandate in North America,” he said. “This has been driven by the big air transport companies wanting to be proactive and put themselves in a (good) position. And that’s why you’re seeing a strong pull on the fats, oils and greases to potentially go to sustainable aviation fuel."

Climate and conservation

Dr. Alejandro Plastina of Iowa State Extension shared the latest numbers from U.S. greenhouse emissions, noting emissions from agriculture largely come from nitrogen fertilizer and methane from animal livestock. He dispelled the idea that carbon dioxide from farm equipment is a problem, noting that those emissions are relatively small in comparison.

He encouraged farmers to consider cover crops, planting trees for windbreaks, reduction of nitrogen fertilizer and the use of more manure.

“These are technologies we have available right now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “And investors have pledged trillions in funding to reduce carbon emissions.”

To cap the event, Agweek Editor Jenny Schlecht moderated a panel on conservation with Martin Barbre of the Rural Investment to Protect our Environment (RIPE), Dana AshfordKornburger of the NRCS and Brad Justice of Indigo.

Ashford-Kornburger said the Inflation Reduction Act features additional funding for producers to take advantage of programs.

“We’re excited about the possibility of increasing our mitigation within the climate space,” she said.

Barbre and Justice both said they want to go the extra mile and help producers take advantage of low-carbon farming practices.

Justice said data compilation is helping in tracking certain areas like soil health, pointing out that tech companies are using satellites to track soils.

“They can tell you where you’ve driven through your field, and they’re trying to tune it so they can tell you how much you weighed when you started and how much you weighed when you ended, so they know your application,” he said. “Get your data organized. Get it together.”

Barbre said farmers and ranchers are willing to implement these practices, but that they should not have to eat all of the costs on their own.

“Biggest thing we hear is that after four or five years, they’re not gonna quit these (new) practices because they’re doing better than ever,” he said. “We know these programs provide value back to the farmer. It’s about covering the cost of implementation.”