When you have an impressive industry footprint, you've got a big opportunity to make sustainable change.

And as the world leader in oil seed processing, Bunge sets the standard in the world of agriculture.

So we're excited to announce that our sustainability initiative with Nutrien Ag Solutions and Bunge, which we just launched a year ago, is expanding from two sites in the American Midwest to five.

This program creates incentives to help growers reduce tillage, implement cover crops, diversify their crop rotation, and manage nutrients.

And, in its first year, it's met with a lot of success.

So in this episode, we catch up with Justin McAllister, Bunge’s Regenerative Agriculture Lead, to discuss how the program is growing and succeeding, what we've learned in its first year, and how it’s helping growers improve their sustainability footprints AND their bottom lines.

Visit agrible.com to sign up for Nutrien Ag Solutions' free digital toolkit, and info.nutrienagsolutions.com/SNO to learn more about Sustainable Nitrogen Outcomes.

Pest control has always been at the top of a farmer's mind throughout the growing season.

But new biocontrol technologies are opening up innovative ways to leverage pests' natural enemies to the grower's advantage and boost crop yields while improving sustainability footprints and operating margins.

Nutrien Ag Solutions just announced its acquisition of Suncor Energy’s AgroScience assets, which consists of several patented and patent pending technologies in the area of biocontrol.

This new biocontrol technology is expected to introduce chlorin-based photosensitizer to the global market as a biocontrol solution for integrated pest management.

And so in this episode, we're talking to Nutrien Ag Solutions President of Global Retail Jeff Tarsi about this and other ways Nutrien continues to push the sustainability envelope.

Plus, we'll look back at the last three years in Nutrien Ag Solutions' sustainability journey and the massive progress that has been made.

Hunting and farming are two beloved traditions steeped in generations of rural American culture.

And a new partnership between Nutrien Ag Solutions and Ducks Unlimited/USA Rice looks to secure the future of both traditions for generations to come.

So in this episode, Sally and Dusty are off to visit Ducks Unlimited world headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee for a chat with Agriculture Support Director Scott Manley.

U.S. growers produce rice on about 3 million acres each year, and we'll discuss how the new partnership helps support sustainable agriculture for rice growers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and California.

With new practices and products for irrigation, sustainability and nutrient management, these farmers can not only provide food and habitat for our cherished migratory waterfowl populations, but also improve the sustainability footprint of rice production while increasing profitability.

We'll also discuss USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited's Climate Smart grant program for historically underserved growers. You can learn more by visiting usarice.com/sustainability.

Farm data drives your ability to leverage sustainability insights.

And farm equipment drives your ability to collect data.

So it's fortunate, then, that the agriculture equipment manufacturing industry is embracing the challenge, pioneering new technologies and advocating for policies that support sustainable ag in North America and around the world.

In this episode, we'll meet an important leader of this conversation, Curt Blades, the Senior Vice President of Industry Sectors and Product Leadership at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

AEM represents more than 1,000 companies in North America that build and support agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility equipment.

And since he joined the association leadership team eight years ago, Curt says there has been a shift in the way that the industry talks about sustainability.

In this episode, we'll discuss why that shift has happened, what it means and how it benefits growers.

Plus, we'll talk about how AEM is helping growers tell their sustainability story and advocating for policies that will support sustainable ag for years to come.

The global spotlight on agriculture has never been brighter than it is today.

Farmers have spent decades producing food, fuel and fiber for the world, all while serving as stewards for the land and the next generation.

But increased global attention to the ongoing climate crisis means that every agricultural practice is under the microscope.

And if growers aren't telling their sustainability story, they risk being left out of key discussions that will shape the future of agriculture policy.

So in this episode, we're talking with Tim Faveri, the Vice President of Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations at Nutrien.

His team works across the organization to integrate sustainability strategy and advance environmental stewardship with partners across the globe.

We'll talk about how they are helping growers shape common sense policy, how fostering partnerships with external stakeholders are an important facet of the strategy, and what they've learned in the last several years of helping farmers share their sustainability story.

Let's start with the good news about the North American climate outlook for the 2024 growing season: drought conditions are significantly better than they were last year.

However, maybe it's force-of-habit, but growers seem to have more anxiety than usual about weather in the coming growing season, according to Nutrien Ag Solutions science fellow and principal atmospheric scientist Eric Snodgrass.

And among the growers he talks to across the continent, he says everyone has something they're hoping for that could make or break their year.

So in this episode, we'll dive in to the climatological outlook for every region in North America and try to tell you what kind of help... or hinderance... you can expect from Mother Nature.

We'll discuss what the unusually warm winter means for planting operations across the continent, and see how long-term trade winds trends will impact weather patterns.

Then, Eric will explain why he expects to see an active severe weather season this Spring, followed by Summer weather that might seem reminiscent of 2016 for some growers.

Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium.

Every grower knows that these three nutrients are at the heart of every successful cropping plan.

But in 2024, the tools to manage those nutrients are so much more potent and complex than they used to be.

And cutting back on fertilizer inputs—discerningly and purposefully—can be a powerful opportunity to reduce costs and improve an operation's sustainability footprint.

So in this episode, we're talking to Ron Calhoun—Senior Marketing Manager of Plant Nutrition from Loveland Products at Nutrien Ag Solutions—to find out how growers can leverage tools like enhanced efficiency fertilizers.

He'll tell us why there's no one-size-fits-all answer.

But how, by bringing the best science and technology to bear, Nutrien Ag Solutions makes it possible for growers to improve their profitability and benefit the planet.

In the heart of soybean country, you'll find Indiana farmers who have been utilizing sustainable best practices since long before it was called "sustainability."

But a new Nutrien Ag Solutions incentive program with Bunge is making it possible for these growers to actually be compensated for these practices. And that's changing the game, both in terms of environmental impact AND the bottom line.

Danny Carmony Jr. is the division manager of Central Indiana for Nutrien Ag Solutions, and a back-to-back Dean Albrecht Award winner, an honor bestowed upon the manager of Nutrien Ag Solutions' top-performing division each year.

And in this episode, he joins us to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities for growers in the central Indiana region, including its diverse geography and soil types.

He'll also highlight the successes of the Bunge sustainable soybean program, discuss how it's affecting the implementation of sustainability practices like cover crops and no-till, and explore how offerings like Agrible make it easier than ever before to collect and leverage ag data.

Visit this link to learn more about the sustainable soybean program:

https://viewer.joomag.com/bunge-sustainable-soybean-program-sky-final/0749223001699469844

And visit agrible.com to check your eligibility.

Most growers have reached the point in their year when it's time to look back on what they've accomplished, review the records, and start looking for ways to improve their operations in the new year ahead.

Nutrien Ag Solutions can help connect growers to programs that pay farmers for their sustainable agriculture practices.

But it's going to take carefully collected and curated data to back up your sustainability story.

So Agrible is available to make data collection, management and insights easy to accomplish and understand.

And in this episode, we're talking to Ryan Adams, Nutrien Ag Solutions Director of Digital Sustainability, to learn about the new features that are making this sustainability tool even more useful.

Learn more or sign up at agrible.com.

Agriculture has been around for more than 10,000 years.

But you can argue that in the last 50 years, it’s changing and evolving faster than ever before.

That evolution has included the growing relationship between agriculture and what we now call “sustainability.” 

And someone who's been along for almost that entire ride is our very own Tom Daniel, Nutrien Ag Solutions' Director of North America Retail and Grower Sustainable Ag, who is retiring after 43 years in the industry.

So in this episode, we thought it would be fun and interesting to look back at that history through Tom's eyes.

He'll tell us about trends that have come and gone and re-emerged yet again. We'll chart how new technologies have made better sustainability outcomes, higher productivity and healthier margins possible. And we'll explore the changing relationship between consumers and the food they eat, and how sustainable ag has always been at the heart of all we do—whether you actually call it "sustainable ag" or not.