Dubuque County Pay-For-Performance Program, Powered by Truterra, Improves Water Quality, Shifts Participating Acres to Carbon Negative

Participating acres were net carbon negative, sequestering nearly 2x as much GHG in 2021 as emitted in 2020

For climate and water quality benefits achieved, participating Dubuque County, Iowa, farmers will receive an average return of $33 per acre

Dubuque, Iowa's Journey to Net Carbon Negative

Dubuque, Iowa, October 26, 2021 – Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business and subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives, together with Dubuque County, today announced exciting results from their Land Stewardship Initiative, a pay-for-performance, public-private collaborative program. These results verify the power and impact of voluntary, incentive-based approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality in partnership with farmers.

The Land Stewardship Initiative was launched by Dubuque County, the Dubuque Soil and Water Conservation District, Truterra and local Truterra ag retailer Innovative Ag Services (IAS). In its first year, the program worked with 26 participating farmers across nearly 2,800 acres in Dubuque County to adopt more sustainable farming practices, with a particular focus on creating a healthier watershed. As a result of quantifiable and verifiable progress achieved between 2020 and 2021, it is anticipated that participating farmers will be compensated $92,000 total, averaging a return of approximately $33 per acre.

Benefits of Nutrient Management Systems

In 2021, participating farmers in Dubuque County adopted advanced nutrient management systems on 1,591 new acres, adopted cover crops on 1,175 new acres, and adopted no-till on 183 new acres. As a result of these practice changes: 

• On average, participating acres were net carbon negative, sequestering nearly twice as much greenhouse gases in 2021 as they emitted in 2020. The program measured a 196% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions because of new stewardship practices implemented in 2021 such as adding cover crops or implementing reduced tillage. This reduction is equivalent to the emissions produced by 125 passenger cars for one year, based on the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.  
   
• Local water quality improved, based on two different metrics. In 2021, participating farmers reduced the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus lost from the field to local waterways by 21.9 pounds/acre and 2.67 pounds/acre, respectively. Participating farmers also reduced sheet and rill erosion by nearly one sixth (14%) between 2020 and 2021, keeping valuable soil on the field and reducing nutrient loss into water resources.

Truterra's Sustainability Tool Benchmarking

“The results from the first year of the Dubuque County program – a model powered by Truterra’s technology that we believe can be replicated and scaled in other communities across the country – build confidence in the climate benefits of voluntary, incentive-based approaches to sequester carbon on farms,” said Jason Weller, President, Truterra. “As interest in climate-smart agricultural commodities and farm products continues to grow, models like the Land Stewardship Initiative support the maturity of those markets and ensures farmers are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand while achieving considerable environmental and climate benefits for their communities.”

Participating farmers used the Truterra™ sustainability tool to benchmark their 2020 farm data and evaluate the impact of new conservation practices implemented in 2021, including cover crops, conservation tillage and nutrient management.
 
“We set out to create a healthier watershed here in Dubuque County by partnering with Truterra and local farmers, and we are encouraged to see what progress looks like when farmers are given the data and tools they need to expand on-farm conservation practices,” said Eric Schmechel, Watershed Program Director, Dubuque Soil and Water Conservation District. “We are committed to continuing to lower some of the barriers that farmers face in implementing practice changes so that our whole community can benefit from healthier soil, water and climate.”
 
Truterra recognizes there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to positively affecting sustainability. The program did not require certain practice changes to be made. Instead, farmers were in the driver’s seat to use their data-driven insights to implement the conservation practices that worked best for their operations and were rewarded for holistic improvements in the environmental impact of their land.
 
“It was valuable for me to receive some financial and technical support to try out several new conservation practices I’d been considering for some time,” said Terry Harder, a farmer who participated in the program. “It is also rewarding to have new data in hand about my farm’s performance that I can use to inform future decision making about conservation practices that proved to be good for the environment and for my bottom line. I may even look at participating in a carbon market in the future now that I am sequestering carbon on my land and have the tools in place to measure that impact.” 
 
New funding has been approved for the project in 2022 to provide another round of financial incentives and technical support for farmers in Dubuque County to boost their on-farm sustainability. For more information about how to get involved, please contact Eric Schmechel with the Dubuque Soil and Water Conservation District at (920) 327-0908 or eric.schmechel@dubuquecounty.us.
 
About Truterra, LLC
Truterra is a leading sustainability solutions provider, advancing and connecting sustainability efforts throughout the food system at scale – from farmers to ag retailers to value chain collaborators including food and fiber companies. Truterra positions farmers for success by providing them tools and resources to establish a stewardship baseline, track progress on every field they farm, access conservation resources and prepare for ecosystem services market opportunities. The Truterra™ network brings together the best in agricultural technology and precision conservation to drive sustainability across the food system, feeding people, safeguarding the planet and supporting farmer livelihoods. Truterra was launched in 2016 by Land O'Lakes, Inc., a member-owned cooperative that spans the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods. To learn more, visit www.truterraag.com.
 
About Dubuque County Watersheds
Dubuque County Watersheds is a collaboration between Dubuque County, the City of Dubuque, and the Dubuque Soil and Water Conservation District that is working towards increasing conservation measures and profitability on farms, as well as improving ecosystem habitat by partnering with both rural and urban landowners.

To learn more, visit www.dubuquecountywatersheds.org  
 
About Innovative Ag Services
Innovative Ag Services Co. is a full-service farm cooperative offering a complete line of supplies and services to meet all of your farm needs. We provide value-added products and services to over 5,000 members in the grain, agronomy, feed, energy and building supply markets. To better serve you, our 31 locations are conveniently located throughout northeast and central Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.

Innovative Ag Services was incorporated in 2005 to ensure that our customers had access to the best products and services available. Since our founding, we have grown in size and territory through multiple mergers and acquisitions and have achieved over $615 million in annual sales. Our more than 280 dedicated employees play an important role in this growth and success.
 
To learn more, visit www.innovativeag.com