Simply stated, “sustainability” means using a resource without using it up. Within the food system, sustainability can take many forms -- from farming methods that aim to reduce impact on the environment, to reducing food waste, to reusing or recycling materials used along the food chain.
Many farmers, including our own member-owners, are leading the way with sustainable farming practices, such as:

• No-till farming, a way of growing crops year over year without disturbing the soil. This reduces soil erosion, limits the use of herbicides and helps retain moisture, so farmers can conserve water.

• Converting cows waste into natural gas with anaerobic methane digesters. Digesters trap greenhouse gas methane from manure so the gas can be used as fuel to generate electricity or heat.

Since we practice a farm-to-fork in every aspect of our business, we’re also concerned with finding more sustainable solutions to make every aspect of our business more sustainable:

• With partners like Microsoft and Uber Freight, we’ve worked to create a more efficient supply chain

• Our Purina Animal Nutrition business has piloted a “Tub Return Program” to up-cycle used feed tubs into “lumber” for building park structures.

In fact, one of our affiliated businesses, Truterra, specifically connects farmers with the ag technology, experts and other resources to adopt and improve conservation efforts on their operation.
Farmers have always been stewards of the earth, and now practicing and improving sustainable practices is more important than ever. The farmers who produce the food for the rest of the world are facing challenges all the time -- environmental and economic -- and we work to figure out how to produce more food without depleting or damaging resources for the future.

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You can see more sustainability in action:

• Explore a day in the life of a family-owned sustainable farm, Reinford Farms.

• Check out the many ways Rancho Teresita incorporates conservation on the farm -- including 10 acres of solar panels!

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