Yara North America, Inc. with Heliae Agriculture, has launched the BetterSoil Alliance to support the California almond industry in the pursuit of sustainable farming practices to improve water productivity and soil health while decreasing their carbon footprint.

Through the Alliance, sustainably-focused solutions will be put to the test to understand their collective impact on critical issues the almond industry faces including water scarcity, drought, and rising temperatures; all of which are challenging the long-term viability of the almond industry.

Almond growers and advisors are invited to participate in implementing the solutions through customized crop and soil nutrition programs that will be developed by mid-November. Participants will be eligible to receive a sustainability reward based on water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), as well as recognition in the Alliance.

Data collected from participating growers’ orchards will be used to better understand the positive impact the solutions implemented in the program can have. Yara North America, Inc. and Heliae Agriculture will help fund a portion of the sustainability rewards, however, to acknowledge as many growers as possible, the companies are calling on the industry to participate through pledges to help fund the sustainability awards.

“To support the longevity of the California almond industry we are focused on bringing practical solutions that positively impact food production by improving water use productivity and soil health. We know by collaborating with others across the industry; growers, advisors, hullers, processors and food companies, for instance, we can achieve more. This is why we have launched the BetterSoil Alliance, with the belief that industry partners will come together and accelerate building out sustainable solutions through discovery and collaboration to address this urgent need,”

said Debbie Watts, VP Yara North America.

Participating growers and advisors will have access to the agronomic expertise of Yara North America, Inc. and Heliae Agriculture. Additionally, they will receive support in implementing crop nutrition and soil management solutions that include YaraLiva Calcium Nitrate; produced in Norway and featuring a very low carbon footprint, and PhycoTerra a superior, nature-based soil microbial food, specifically produced to feed the dormant microbes-including fungi and bacteria.

Yara North America, Inc. and Heliae Agriculture hope the program will help demonstrate these products together synergistically drive almond yield and quality while improving soil health and structure. Moreover, independent third-party trials show a measurable improvement in water productivity (crop per drop) when YaraLiva Calcium Nitrate and PhycoTerra products are used in tandem.

“Improving soil quality serves as the foundation to improving water use that helps optimize crop yield and quality. Between the increased consumer demand for almonds and tightening water supply in California, growers need solutions that increase yield and improve soil health and soil structure for future crops,”

said Norm Davy, Heliae Agriculture.

Source: Yara

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Yara, a leading crop nutrition solutions provider, will officially introduce Agoro Carbon Alliance during a global launch event on Tuesday, June 8 at 9:00 a.m. CDT (10 a.m. EDT). The Agoro Carbon Alliance is Yara’s new global business created to decarbonize the farm and food value chain and enable farmers to earn additional revenue through positive climate action.

During the event, attendees will discover Agoro Carbon through the voices of farmers, Alliance partners, and supporters from around the world, demonstrating Agoro Carbon’s farmer-centric approach and commitment to carbon farming and credit generation.

Event speakers include:

• Farmers
• NGOs, Farmer associations
• Technology partners
• Climate-smart ag experts
• Agoro Carbon Alliance leadership
• Yara leadership

The event will also provide the opportunity for a Q&A with the Agoro Carbon Alliance leadership team. In addition, attendees will learn more information on how farmers and potential partners can get involved.

“We’re thrilled about the launch of Agoro Carbon Alliance, and we couldn’t be more excited to share our mission with farmers, partners, and our Yara team across the globe during this event. By helping farmers transform certain practices and generate reliable Farm Carbon Credits and certified climate-smart crops, together we can decarbonize the food value chain and build a better agriculture future for all,”

said Alex Bell, interim CEO and Head of Carbon Strategy and Alliances at Agoro Carbon.

Agoro Carbon Alliance is the only carbon alliance built on an active global knowledge network of open and transparent partnerships that enables permanent, system-wide transformation.

Agoro Carbon Alliance has operations and partnerships across four continents with teams in Europe, Brazil, India, and the United States. The alliance is global in order to activate the power of farm soil across the planet and to make this opportunity accessible for farmers of various backgrounds.

Source: Yara

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Yara’s crop nutrition solution approach is centered around supporting grower profitability through efficient nutrient application to grow their best crop, while also protecting the environment by promoting proven 4R Nutrient Stewardship Practices. Over the years, Yara has made a number of contributions to the industry, most notably introducing YaraLiva Calcium Nitrate in 1946, and the launch of a patented micronutrient coating technology, YaraVita PROCOTE, in 2018.

Both of these products are cornerstones of Yara’s portfolio, along with a homogenous nitrogen and sulfur product, YaraVera AMIDAS, and the YaraVita foliar nutrition line. In addition to the most comprehensive crop nutrition portfolio in the industry, the organization’s commitment to the future has sparked a focus on digital farming tools to enhance grower practices across all aspects of the cropping system.

Such digital tools include the launch of the Farm Water Advisor App, which is a newer innovation to help growers better manage their irrigation, and Atfarm, a remote crop monitoring tool that uses satellite images and is currently under development.

“Since 1946, Yara North America has been committed to being the crop nutrition company of the future, and we’re extremely proud of all of the significant strides that we’ve made within the industry. In 1946 our export of fertilizer to the US helped rebuild a war-torn Norway as well as creating an off-take market for US crops on the return. Being a core contributor to the food value chain has always been our DNA. We’ve continued to invest in research and development for different crop nutrition solutions, sought ideas for creating new digital tools to improve practices, and we look forward to continuing to build and share our knowledge for the betterment of our industry and world.”

said Magnus Ankarstrand, President of Yara North America.

In 2019, Yara established two Incubator Farms in Auburn, AL, and Modesto, CA, and in 2020 opened a third in Saskatoon, SK as centers for research on field-scale soil fertility and crop nutrient management in collaboration with various partners, customers, and technology providers. By utilizing large, multi-acre plots to gather many layers of data on every aspect of the cropping system, Yara has been able to explore, refine and share knowledge among the industry in order to make advances in crop nutrition.

Other significant investments Yara has made in North America include the 2018 opening of a world-scale Ammonia plant in Freeport, Texas, in partnership with BASF, and the 2008 acquisition of Yara Belle Plaine, a world-scale nitrogen production facility.

“It is important to us to work alongside partners in the whole food value chain to develop more efficient, effective, and climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions. The more ways we can collaborate on innovative solutions, the closer we are to creating a more sustainable, healthier world while still supporting farmer profitability.”

said Ankarstrand.

With the world population continuing to grow, the planet will be at 9 billion people by 2050. At that time, farmers will need to make 60% more food on the same area of land. Globally Yara recognizes the importance of solving this problem, with a goal of reducing the company’s carbon footprint to zero by 2050 – tying into their mission of responsibly feeding the world and protecting the planet. In order to achieve climate change goals for agriculture and food supply, Yara has been actively lowering CO₂ emissions in the manufacturing process and educating farmers to improve nutrient use efficiencies.

Source: Yara

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“We’re very happy to work with Yara Belle Plaine and Down to Earth Ag Research to look at practices and application systems that could really benefit producers not only in increased yields but also in return on investment. This is the kind of project that fits the Discovery Farm mandate to a tee, with industry and research partners working together to find practical, applicable solutions in agriculture.”

says Blake Weiseth, Applied Research Lead at Discovery Farm.

A total of 80 acres at Discovery Farm will be devoted to the large-scale trials, explains Weiseth, including 40 seeded with canola and another 40 with wheat. Standard farming practices will be used on half of each crop as a control. The other half will feature alternative practices, products and technology designed to improve crop yield, nutrient use efficiency and grower profitability.

“Having an Incubator Farm in the heart of the Prairies, near our Belle Plaine, Sask. nitrogen facility, has been a long-term goal in our effort to further support the agriculture community here in Western Canada. Our research at Discovery Farm will allow us to showcase new and traditional practices to our retail partners and their farmers that could make a difference in how, when, and what nutrition is applied as we work toward keeping operations simple and farms profitable.”

says Mandy Huska, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Yara in Western Canada.

In addition to field scale trials, the research underway at Discovery Farm also involves a small-plot component where Yara will trial new granular fertilizers, fertilizer coatings, and foliar nutrition products along with crop nutrition strategies on key western Canadian crops.

“We call these incubator projects because it allows us to bring to scale learnings from these and other Yara trials in a more commercial context. Ultimately, we intend for the farm to serve as a platform to demonstrate innovative ways to deliver complete crop nutrition, without creating additional complexity for the farmer, while increasing net return on investment on practices implemented”

says Markus Braaten, Market Development Manager for Yara North America.

Down to Earth Ag Research will manage all aspects of the project, from seeding to harvest, on both the large and small plots. For Down to Earth Ag Research Founder and CEO Dean Streisel, the research results will help farmers recognize the value that comes with paying attention to nutrition.

“Farmers want products and systems that boost yield, but they also need to see the economic benefit,” he says. “We’re excited to be part of research that will make our limited amount of agricultural land even more productive.”

Source: YARA Canada

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