August 2020
Investing in Agriculture - What Does the Future Hold?
On September 8, 2020 Farm Foundation will be hosting our next Forum, focused on new and changing market opportunities for agriculture. Looking through this lens of the pandemic, our panelists will address what are the near-term opportunities for agricultural investment as the pandemic runs its course, as well as opportunities that may emerge in the post-pandemic era. Speakers include: Kiersten Stead, Managing Partner, DCVC, Cristina Rohr, Principal of Investments, S2G Ventures, Joelle Faulkner, Founder and CEO, Area One Farms, and Sean Day, Partner, Better Food Ventures. Register today and be part of the discussion.
Watch Sessions from our Latest Trade Dialogue Series: Managing Agricultural Trade in an Increasingly Chaotic World
You can now watch both sessions of the Agricultural Trade Dialogue series, organized by Farm Foundation and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI). The first dialogue focused on the Future of the Multilateral System. Agri-food supply chains globally have been challenged by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate reaction of many countries has been to impose controls on trade and compensate farmers for losses. Speakers focused on how to make the multilateral system more resilient to current and future challenges, on the impacts of “new” domestic policies on trade and sustainability and on how we can make progress on eliminating barriers to trade while securing food availability.

The second dialogue, Sustainability and Efficient Trade, examined how existing agreements and systems may suppress growth and discourage reform, as well as how disruptors and others can effect positive change in multilateral trade dialogues to ensure a global, sustainable future for food.

View both recordings for speaker insights and reactions.
Young Farmer Accelerators
We are also pleased to announce that 15 young farmers, from a diversity of operations, have been selected for Farm Foundation’s Young Farmer Accelerator program. This program, aimed at helping young farmers grow their knowledge, experience and network, will help to accelerate their careers and contacts through interactive learning and networking experiences, focused on gaining a deeper understanding of a wide variety of agriculture, agribusiness and government issues. Meet the farmers.
Young Agri-Food Leaders
The Young Agri-Food Leaders Network is comprised of 10 highly accomplished young leaders in the agri-food and agri-business sector selected to participate in a year-long series of interactive learning and networking experiences, focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the food and agriculture value chain.

Publications
Early Effects of COVID-19 on North American Agricultural Trade
Bill Bryant, Chairman and Founder of Bryant Christie Inc., spoke at the second session of the #AgTrade dialogue and has published a brief trade analysis for the Farm Foundation Trade Resource Center on the “Early Effects of COVID-19 on North American Agricultural Trade”.
 
Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use in Central Indiana
Megan Hughes and Michael Langemeier of Purdue University have published their article, “An Analysis of the Economic Effects of Cover Crop Use on Farm Net Returns per Acre in Central Indiana,” in Sustainability. As a result of Farm Foundation’s project, “Soil Health Economics: Measuring & Validating the Economic Benefits & Costs of Soil Health Practices”, data were obtained from a Central Indiana case farm to evaluate the relationship between applied nitrogen and corn yield, and how this relationship is impacted by introducing three different species of cover crops: annual ryegrass, cereal rye, and an oats and radish blend.

Sand County Foundation Report
A partnership to assess agricultural practices and strategies to further improve water quality in the United States was launched in January 2018, by the Sand County Foundation, the Noble Research Institute, Farm Foundation, and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The final report of this study, “Prioritizing Resources to Meet Water Quality Goals,” were published in June 2020 and are available here.
President Shari Rogge-Fidler Presents at the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association Meeting
President and CEO Shari Rogge-Fidler gave the Gordon Rausser Keynote Address at the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) annual meeting on August 10-11. Rogge-Fidler’s talk, “Sustainability: The Interface of Food, Agriculture and the Environment,” focused on what ag economists should know about the future of sustainability, focused on three areas of importance – definitions, incentives, and behaviors. 

Definitions matter because currently there is no alignment around a definition for sustainability or sustainable agriculture, as well as regenerative agriculture entering the landscape with similar definition challenges. Incentives matter because supply chains have not yet worked through who will pay for the additional costs required of farmers for sustainability practices and reporting. Behaviors matter to move from early adopters to scaling sustainability. We may be near a “tipping point” for consumer behaviors – research from IBM Institute for Business Values shows that more consumers buy food for purpose/values than based on cost/price now for the first time. We need to determine how to scale adoption of soil health practices too. Shari went on to share several examples of some leaders in sustainability from both food companies and for soil health. 
Connect With Us Today on Social Media
Farm Foundation is on Instagram, LinkedInTwitter, YouTube and Facebook, where we are connecting with people and organizations interested in and impacted by food and agricultural issues. We’ll be sharing Farm Foundation events and news, as well as updates from the ag and food sectors. Come chat with us.
Farm Foundation Partnership Opportunities
The Farm Foundation is an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture—and our mission is to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. Since 1933, we have been accomplishing this by leveraging non-partisan objective dialogue, information and training, catalyzing solutions and creating multi-stakeholder collaboration. Our vision is to build a future for farmers, our communities and our world. If you share a similar vision, we would love to talk to you about how we can partner together to advance solutions for agriculture. Learn more
Become a Farm Foundation Funding Partner
To make our mission and vision happen and to strengthen the ability of Farm Foundation to address rapidly evolving issues impacting agriculture, the food system and rural communities, we rely on philanthropic support. Half of the Farm Foundation budget is supported by donors such as you—individuals, companies and other foundations or organizations, who recognize the importance of the Farm Foundation’s unique work and the value of our unwavering focus on objectivity and non-advocacy. Become a Farm Foundation funding partner and make an important impact on the future of agriculture. Learn how you can support Farm Foundation
Farm Foundation is an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture. Our mission is to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. We accomplish this by leveraging non-partisan objective dialogue, information and training, catalyzing solutions and creating multi-stakeholder collaboration. Our vision is to build a future for farmers, our communities and our world.
Farm Foundation
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