Consumers, media and farmers discuss sustainability, transparency and giving farmers a voice (BPT) - On a hot and humid evening in July, two farmers finished up their long day in the field, five national media journalists took a break from impending deadlines and two dietitians wrapped up their daily meetings with clients and logged into a video conference to participate in the third Dinner is Grown event hosted by BASF Agricultural Solutions. Paul Rea, senior vice president for BASF Agricultural Solutions North America, opened the virtual event live from the company’s new Sustainability Center. He welcomed the diverse audience to participate in a conversation about sustainability in agriculture and how food gets from the farm to America’s dinner plates. What seemed to be a straightforward and
Mayer grew up on his family simple conversation on the surface was rather complex farm. He said he stumbled into regenerative agriculture after and enlightening. realizing there must be a bet“The purpose of Dinner ter, more efficient way to farm. is Grown is about bringing “We began to track our trips people together - farmers and members of the media - to and our fertilizer, and we aclearn from one another and tually created the carbon footbridge the gap from the farm print of our farm. So, we knew to the table,” said Rea. “We exactly how much carbon we know consumers still have were sequestering and on ava lot of questions around ag- erage on our 160-acre farm, riculture and this event pro- we were removing the equivvides a platform to have those alent of 62 cars off the road.” conversations.” “We’re not making more The topic of carbon kicked farmland, so we’re going to off the evening, and farmers have to do well with what we Matt Mayer from Northeast have,” added Mayer. Iowa and Rob Fleming of Fleming agreed. “Our soil North Carolina shared their thoughts and fielded questions is our number one asset. It’s on everything from strip tilling something that we must keep healthy. My job is to leave the to nitrogen fixers. land better than when I got it
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40 years ago.” After nearly an hour of engaging conversation, the question remained, are we adequately communicating with consumers about what farmers do to produce safe and reliable food? Melissa Joy Dobbins, a dietitian, provided insight from her clients. “I don’t think people are skeptical or distrusting of farming. I think they don’t know what they don’t know, and the more we talk about these new and exciting things going on at the farm, no till, strip till, carbon sequestration, that these terms become more common, and that people realize the science and business that goes into farm-
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12 Spring/Summer 2022 | Illinois Valley Farm Directory | A NewsTribune Publication
