Heritage Cooperative partners with Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN. How does this benefit our growers?

Can it really work?

“Moisture management has been big for us with no-till and cover crops. In 2012, we planted corn into a no-till field with cereal rye. That summer, we went quite a while without some rain. A lot of the neighboring field’s corn was fir-ing up and ours stayed dark green. We were out walking in the middle of a corn field in August and there was still moisture an inch and a half, two inches in the ground.”

“Weed pressure hasn’t been as bad where we’ve had cover crops, and there has also been changes in the health of our soil since it has had that cover there. The cover crops combined with the no-till have helped us keep organic matter levels where there are at, and even increase in some places.”

The sustainability trend is here to stay, and agriculture has the opportunity to lead it. Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN exists to help retailers and their growers take advantage of this opportunity in a profitable way. Through partnering with Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN, Heritage Cooperative is now able to offer a variety of resources, expertise, tools and technologies that can help you more easily implement sustainability-minded practices, navigate regulation and differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

Sustainability |

Sustainability: What does it mean to Heritage Cooperative?As an agricultural cooperative, we believe we have a responsibility to our member-owners to help them do the right thing on every acre of land they farm. We know that managing nutrient rates and timing of application is of ongoing importance. And it’s not simply an environmental issue, it’s an economic issueas well. Applying crop nutrients that won’t actually be taken up by crops due to soil or drainage issues, lowplant populations or other factors is simply a waste of money. Adoption and utilization of on-farm practices that benefit your bottom line and the environment, to us, is sustainability.

Bair Farms, Heritage Cooperative Member

Murphy Family Farms, Heritage Cooperative Member

What is the Truterra Insights Engine and what makes it different from other technologies?

Measured by the Truterra Insights Engine

5 Key Sustainability Indicators

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Nitrogen Use EfficiencyIndicates estimated nitrogen use efficiency for producing the current crop.

Sheet & Rill ErosionIndicates the estimated tons per acre of soil that erodes in the field each year due to water interacting with the top soil. The interaction could be from rain fall or water running across the land.

Wind ErosionIndicates the estimated tons per acre of soil that erodes in the field each year due to wind blowing across the field.

Soil Quality TrendIndicates the predicted trend in gains, losses, or maintenance of soil organic matter and soil carbon based on current field operations and crop management.

Net GHG EmissionsIndicates the estimated net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in pounds per acre per year, taking into account the total fuel usage from farm equipment operations, carbon dioxide aeration and res-piration from the soil, and nitrous oxide emissions from commercial fertilizer.

The Truterra Insights Engine is a first-of-its-kind technology developed by Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN. This ag tech tool helps you to capture more than just field boundaries and fertilizer application data, but all management and production practices, giving you the power to evaluate and tell the story of what’s happening on your operation with solid numbers.

From being able to explore, in real-time, return on investment and environmental impacts of management changes like cover crops or minimizing tillage, to helping you to differentiate yourself to a potential landlord or processor- and all points in between- the Truterra Insights Engine has a way to work for you.

To find out more, please contact any of our Heritage Cooperative Ag Technology Specialists, call 937-653-8869 or email sustain@heritagecooperative.com