Minnesota farmer and National Pork Board board member, Dale Stevermer, advocated for U.S. Pork at the G7 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Japan using his personal Pork Cares Farm Impact Report.
Stevermer talked about his farm’s positive environmental impact and shared that he, like every farmer, must balance decisions that affect financial viability and environmental sustainability.
“We’ve adopted a number of practices over the years to improve our farming operation,” Stevermer said to the audience. “New technologies and management practices are allowing us to be more productive and efficient, to take better care of pigs, to lessen our impact on the environment and to ensure long-term financial viability for the farm business.”
But despite the need to meet consumer demand for sustainable food, Stevermer said new technologies and practices can be risky for farmers. He advocated for multi-level partnerships to support and incentivize farmers to adopt new practices.
One example, he shared, is the Advancing U.S. Pork Sustainability Grant for eligible pork producers in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri. As one of 141 projects in USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities Program, this grant involves multiple partners who provide technical support and financial incentives to producers for adopting climate-smart agriculture practices.
• Cover crops
• Livestock integration (in cover crops)
• Conservation tillage (no till)
• Manure management (pumping manure > 1 time per year)
• Grassed buffers
• In-barn LED lighting
Are you interested in advocating for the pork industry and showing your farm’s positive environmental impact? The first step is to request a Pork Cares Farm Impact Report for your farm. It takes 30 seconds to get started, and the reports are 100% funded by the Pork Checkoff.
