Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture on Jan. 29 announced the launch of a new three-year 2019-2021 strategic plan, which it said builds on more than a decade of Field to Market’s role as the leading multi-stakeholder organization committed to defining, measuring, and advancing sustainability in commodity crop production in the United States.
The priorities outlined in the new plan include:
- Convene Diverse Stakeholders to facilitate multi-sector collaboration, advance shared learning, and drive collective action.
- Provide Science-Based Leadership to develop and strengthen resources for measuring sustainability performance and assessing opportunities for improvement.
- Scale Impact Through Partnerships by developing a flexible program framework, facilitating partnerships, and leveraging capacity to support farmers in delivering improved environmental outcomes at the field and landscape levels.
- Enable Credible Communications that facilitate and improve supply chain and industry reporting, showcase leaders in sustainability, and strengthen public confidence in the food and agriculture system.
On Jan. 30, Field to Market welcomed new members to its board of directors, comprised of three representatives from each of the five membership sectors: Affiliate, Agribusiness, Brands & Retail, Civil Society, and Growers. Stefani Millie Grant is board chair and is the senior manager for external affairs and sustainability, Unilever.
Other board members include: Michelle Bubniak, corporate sustainability manager, Archer Daniels Midland; Keira Franz, environmental policy advisor, National Association of Wheat Growers; Diane Herndon, senior manager of sustainability, Nestlé Purina; Brandon Hunnicutt, farmer & board member, National Corn Growers Association; Mark Isbell, farmer & sustainability and conservation committee member, USA Rice Federation; Debbie Reed, executive director, Coalition on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases; Ryan Sirolli, global row crop sustainability director, Cargill; and Jun Zhu, director of waste management, Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability at the University of Arkansas
Zhu, Reed, and Franz were each re-elected to a second three-year term on the board, while Bubniak and Herndon are newly elected members. Isbell was elected to fill a vacancy, and Sirolli and Hunnicutt will serve as new representatives for their respective organizations.