Making the Case for CLC

CLC Strategies

a. We need to support today’s farmers 

1. SPOTLIGHT – Tsyunhehkw^ Farm 
2. SPOTLIGHT – Mark Peterson working with Practical Farmers of Iowa 
3. SPOTLIGHT – Illinois Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program 

b. We need to create opportunities for tomorrow’s farmers 

1. SPOTLIGHT – Breslin Farms 
2. SPOTLIGHT – Singing Hills Dairy/ Grow a Black Farmer 
3. SPOTLIGHT – George Boody and the Severson Family on reintegrating livestock in row crop country 

c. We need to equip the next generation of agricultural professionals 

1. SPOTLIGHT – Dr. Britt Moore 
2. SPOTLIGHT – Hannah Stoll, Ph.D. student 
3. SPOTLIGHT – Intertribal Agriculture Council 
4. SPOTLIGHT – Moses Momanyi, Dawn2Dusk Farm & Kilimo 

d. We need to increase funding for research and development of new crops and cropping systems 

1. SPOTLIGHT – Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agricultural Projects (SAS CAPs) 
2. SPOTLIGHT – Illinois Regenerative Agriculture Initiative (IRAI) 
3. SPOTLIGHT – The Forever Green Initiative (FGI) 

e. We need to activate the system levers of markets, policy, and investment capital; and implement with a cross-sector networked approach 

1. SPOTLIGHT – Learning from early market development of Kernza® perennial grain 
2. SPOTLIGHT – Savanna Institute’s Tree Crop Commercialization Program

MN Ag Carbon Tracking and Monitoring Workshop, Post-Workshop Report – MN partners, July 2022

Agricultural Opportunities for a Climate-Smart Minnesota. Friends of the Mississippi River – March 2022

Brief: Environmental & Social Outcomes of CLC Strategies. GLBW & Partners, 2021

Regenerative agriculture can provide many environmental benefits, but is not a “silver bullet” for climate change mitigation. Drs. Jessica Gutknecht and Jacob Jungers, University of Minnesota – March 2021

GLBW endeavors to develop distinct and effective tools for our network partners to Make the Case for CLC in their work and to their funders. GLBW engaged Ecotone Analytics to begin to develop return on investment tools as a different way to characterize Continuous Living Cover and communicate its benefits.

In the project documentation, Ecotone identifies that the need for CLC adoption and the mission and purpose of GLBW make it a potentially highly valuable vessel for raising and funneling funding and investment for network partner projects.

Ecotone Analytics is an impact accounting organization that does benefit-cost analysis for clients’ social and environmental impacts. Combining evidence-based research analysis and monetization of impact outcomes, Ecotone derives a social return on investment ratio. Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an adaptation of the financial ROI metric. It is used to measure social, environmental, and economic gains (also referred to as returns) as a result of an investment.

With GLBW and many GLBW partners (huge thanks for your input!), Ecotone Analytics conducted an impact analysis and calculated an SROI focusing on the Perennial Forage and Grazing (PFG) strategy of CLC. The analysis takes a benefit-cost approach to external literature of the highest available level of evidence of causality to estimate the total social, environmental and economic value generated by PFG. The prospective valuation approach used compares the estimated outcomes achieved by PFG against the environmental impacts of annual row crops in the Upper Midwest.

Following their research and analysis, Ecotone projects that the SROI achieved by the PFG strategy will be approximately $3.38. For every $1 dollar in investment made in supporting the establishment of a perennial pasture and grazing system on farms with livestock, a projected $3.38 in social and environmental value will be generated, with benefits flowing to farms, taxpayers, community members, municipal water users, and the broader global society. The largest outcome monetized was the projected reduced costs of eutrophication due to avoided nutrient runoff, followed by the financial returns accruing to the farm.

 Photo by Susie Theis

Two financial hurdles that INVESTORS CAN HELP OVERCOME are upfront investment costs and opportunity costs for the farmer, in return fostering larger environmental services as well as potentially supporting financial well-being on the farm. Investing in Perennial Forage and CLC benefits the farmer and their communities and extends to the environment and society at large.

• As illustrated in this “Journey Map” of benefits

The impact value map and overview brochure shows the estimated cost per acre for pasture and grazing system establishment and the projected benefits per acre per year from adopting perennial forage and grazing strategies, in comparison to conventional practices.

• Impact Overview for the Social and Environmental Impact of Perennial Forage and Grazing in the Upper Midwest

Elements of the Impact Overview Brochure are provided below as individual graphic files for your use.

• Five Dimensions of Impact of Continuous Living Cover
• Ag Transformation Indicators of Perennial Forage and CLC
• Logic Model for a network/collaborative approach to implementing CLC
• Impact Value Map for the Social and Environmental Impact of Perennial Forage and Grazing in the Upper Midwest

Find below supplemental materials about the analysis, providing technical information and user and communications guidance.

• Project Summary and FAQs
• Technical Documentation
• Communications Package

• Fact Sheet: Minnesota Projects to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Sept 2021
• Kernza Field Trial Results: Pipestone and Chatfield, MN – GLBW, Mar 2022
• Project Snapshot: VERDI, MN – Project to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Feb 2020
• Project Snapshot: COLD SPRING, MN – Project to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Feb 2020
• Paper: Policies and Programs Supporting Perennial Farming Systems to Protect Drinking Water in Minnesota – GLBW, Apr 2019

Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops

Infographic: Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops

PDF Web Version 

PDF Print Version 

 

 

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Benefits of Investing in Perennial Forage & CLC

Infographic: Journey Map of Investing in Perennial Forage & CLC

PDF Web Version 

PDF Print Version 

 

 

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Perennial Forage for Infrastructure Protection infographic

Infographic: Perennial Forage for Infrastructure Protection

PDF Web Version (8.4 Mb)

PDF Print Version (13.4 Mb)

For more information on these topics, visit our Midwest Perennial Forage Working Group page.