Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC)

Meet the influential women accelerating the future of food! TOGETHER we can transform for a climate positive food future and with these senior-level executives sharing their insights at Transform Food & Agriculture 2024 ACTION starts NOW. Join these influential women and find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eRNVuXad ◽ Janelle Meyers, Chief Sustainability Officer, Kellanova ◽ Alyssa Vescio, SVP Merchandising (Downstream), Whole Foods Market ◽ Caitlin Colegrove, Sustainable Agriculture Lead, PepsiCo ◽ Dr. Deepali Palta, Global VP of R&D, Kellanova ◽ Emma Reynolds, Global VP of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Mars ◽ Catherine Hayden, Chief Commercial Officer, Kate Farms ◽ Anna Pierce, Director of Sustainability, Tate & Lyle ◽Katie Cook, VP Farm Animal Innovation, Elanco ◽ Cristina Rohr, Managing Director – Food & Agriculture, S2G Ventures ◽ Anastasia Volkova, PhD, CEO & Co-Founder, Regrow Ag ◽ Debbie Reed, Executive Director, Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) ◽ Allison Hohn, Executive Director, Naturally Minnesota ◽ JoAnne Berkenkamp, Managing Director, MBOLDmn ◽ Katie Anderson, Senior Manager Food & Agriculture, Environmental Defense Fund ◽ Jean Brokish, Deputy Director (Midwest), American Farmland Trust ◽ Tessa Hale, Director of Corporate Engagement, The Good Food Institute ◽ Michele Fite, Chief Commercial Officer, Elo Life Systems ◽ Alison Taylor, Chief Sustainability Officer, ADM   #foodag #greensupply #agri #agriculture

Great highlight from Austin Arrington, ESMC's Director of Technology and Innovation, on our stratification and sampling approach!

Are or a colleague looking for an exciting opportunity to focus on #regenerative ag R&D? Our research arm, ESMRC, has a new opening for a Research Operations Senior Manager - please share the #Jobposting with your networks. https://lnkd.in/ebtcHWW This position will lead our R&D and innovation program and operations to meet our goal of providing the best available information to support scaled beneficial outcomes from agricultural operations.

Sedley Benitz joins ESMC as the technical project manager for livestock where she will focus on grassland, rangeland, and livestock management system projects. Sedley earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture majoring in animal science from the University of Guelph and is currently finishing her master’s degree in animal science at the University of Guelph. During her master’s she spent 5 months living at the Trouw Nutrition research facility in the Netherlands conducting research and interning for the company. Welcome Sedley!

We're excited to welcome new members to our ESMC team - Heather Christensen and Sedley Benitz. Heather Christensen is joining ESMC to lead our protocol and standards work. Prior to ESMC she worked on the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Ecosystems team at Ede Environment as a Soil and Water Scientist. In this time, she worked throughout the agricultural value to chain to help advocate for the implementation and support of regenerative practices, as well as conduct climate and water risk assessments, and assist in various product life cycle analyses. Heather also has experience as a research scientist for the Gulf Coast Carbon Center where she investigated nutrient cycling and GHG emissions from soils. Heather holds a B.S. and M.S. in hydrogeology and aqueous geochemistry from the Jackson School of Geosciences at UT Austin, where her research focused on carbon and nitrogen cycling and GHG emissions in the banks of the regulated Colorado river.

How can we celebrate and honor the role of Black Americans throughout agriculture's history? The USDA's National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) posts a history of the contributions Black Americans have made https://lnkd.in/ecEWaZ8x   Civil Eats has published an oral history project to preserve Black and Indigenous food traditions https://lnkd.in/eKBqkA-n   At ESMC, we look to increase opportunities for BIPOC producers to participate in ecosystem services markets - last year we enrolled 400 acres of cotton on Black-owned Bridgeforth Farms in partnership with Forum for the Future & the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. We look forward to sharing the results of that work more widely. Additionally, we launched partnership-driven underserved producer outreach efforts through strategic engagements with members including TAD Consulting, National Black Growers Council, Freedmen Heirs Foundation, Latino Farmers and Ranchers International, and the National Indian Carbon Coalition.    Through 2026, we're partnering with The National Association of Conservation Districts on a #ClimateSmartCommodities project https://lnkd.in/gFmJpsWm to mitigate barriers to entry faced by historically underserved producers and develop strategies to attract and engage those producers. Read more about this project https://lnkd.in/enFrFG2G or get in touch with Doug Adams ESMC's Manager, Member Engagement & Equity.

ESMC is proud to join The Breakthrough Institute as well as our members, collaborators and colleagues in calling for robust investment in agricultural research and development in the #FarmBill. These investments in the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), and other critical public support for sustainable agriculture are greatly needed to advance climate-smart agriculture nationwide.

Today we honor #WorldEnvironmentDay https://lnkd.in/g8RBQ3q with a focus on drought resilience and #soilhealth As part of this day, the #WorldEnvironmentDay Practical Guide is now available. https://lnkd.in/eY_hTtDM. This is designed to help get everyone involved in ecosystem restoration; it covers various subjects like food systems, freshwater ecosystems, human habitats, and how businesses, governments and everyday citizens can contribute. Learn more about our work with soil health and drought resilience through our Eco-Harvest program https://lnkd.in/ghpVNhbq

The MU Center for Regenerative Agriculture is thrilled to announce that the Missouri CRCL Project’s cover crops incentive payment program applications are reopening starting June 3rd! During the month of June, applications for the four cover crop programs and the  “Grow Your Edges” silvopasture program will reopen! One of the eligibility criteria is to have a Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm number. Be sure to check in with your FSA office for application assistance. Just like last year, funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis! To apply or learn more, scan the QR code or visit https://lnkd.in/gVrNmEHH. #Mo_CRCL Missouri Corn Growers Assn Missouri Soybeans MISSOURI CATTLEMENS ASSOCIATION Missouri Farm Bureau The Nature Conservancy COLUMBIA CENTER FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE EarthDance Organic Farm School Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) Missouri Department of Agriculture Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Agribusiness Association MFA Incorporated Missouri Fertilizer Control Board (MoFCB) The Kansas City Food Hub Vital Farms

Today, May 22, is #BiodiversityDay https://lnkd.in/dxWaa5d and this year's theme is #PartofthePlan - highlighting the role that everyone can play in protecting & restoring nature. At ESMC, we see increased #biodiversity plantings and enhanced biodiversity practices (such as edge-of-field practices) as key to true regenerative agricultural systems. Through learnings from Eco-Harvest projects such as our work in Missouri https://lnkd.in/erD2pamy, our technical working groups (one of which focuses exclusively on biodiversity), and our research, we are developing science-based protocols for additional project opportunities to enhance biodiversity through Eco-Harvest.