Natural Resources Focus of Internet Tool
Farmers can explore scenarios to improve their use of natural resources.
Compiled by staff
Published: Aug 24, 2009
Farmers and growers producing soybeans, cotton and wheat now have access to a free, confidential online tool that will assess how some of their operational decisions affect natural resource management and stewardship. The calculator was created by the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture's Field to Market initiative.
The Fieldprint Calculator provides an easy way for growers to assess their current land use, energy use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions and soil loss and explore various scenarios that may help further improve their farm's use of natural resources. Garry Niemeyer, is a NCGA Corn Board member and works with the Field to Market Initiative. Niemeyer says the initiation is proving to be a very important and practical source of information for growers.
Using a simple question-and-answer format, the calculator confidentially collects information from growers related to resource use or impact and compares the use with the production, or outcome. The calculator, directly correlated to Field to Market's national level outcome indicators for corn, cotton, soy and wheat, provides benchmarks of an operation's sustainability against the industry index. It also allows growers to securely save data to compare year-to-year changes, which can help determine the value and impact new practices are having.
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Tagged: wheat, cotton, farm, soybeans, NCGA
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