Field to Market Awarded Walton Family Foundation Grant to Advance Supply Chain Sustainability Efforts in U.S. Agriculture
$760,000 grant will support development of greenhouse gas emissions reporting guidance among other key priorities
WASHINGTON, April 14, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Field to Market®: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture announced today that it was awarded a two-year grant totaling $760,000 by the Walton Family Foundation to advance supply chain sustainability efforts across U.S. commodity crop production. Among other priorities, the grant will support the development of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting guidance for food and agriculture companies that are utilizing Fieldprint® Platform metrics with farmers in their supply chains. Currently, there are more than 60 locally implemented projects enrolled in Field to Market’s Continuous Improvement Accelerator, representing nearly 5 million acres of data collection and reporting. The Scope 3 emissions guidance will enable companies to credibly report progress on climate targets.
This new award builds upon prior support from the Walton Family Foundation for enhancing Field to Market’s sustainability programs and resources. Over the past several years, the Walton Family Foundation has enabled the development of science-based tools within the Fieldprint Platform, including USDA’s COMET-Planner, which will launch this summer to improve the Platform’s soil carbon sequestration assessment capabilities.
“For nearly a decade, the Walton Family Foundation has been an integral partner for Field to Market as we work together accelerate market-based approaches to sustainable agriculture while building the necessary tools to accurately measure and report impact,” said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. “This new award will strengthen these ongoing efforts to provide pre-competitive, collaborative solutions to advance the food and agriculture sector’s climate, water, soil health and biodiversity goals while enhancing farmer livelihoods.”
In addition, the Walton Family Foundation will support Field to Market in developing programs to advance racial justice, equity and inclusion in U.S. agriculture. Last summer, Field to Market announced its commitment and planned actions to ensure that racial justice is prioritized within the organization’s ongoing sustainability efforts. As part of its commitment to elevate diverse voices and perspectives, the organization held a recent Cross-Sector Dialogue dedicated to exploring how the value chain can support collaborative solutions that advance equity and inclusion for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and communities.
“Climate-smart farming, clean water, and racial justice in U.S. agriculture are all interconnected issues that require urgent, thoughtful effort. Field to Market, with its broad membership, is well-positioned to address some of the most pressing issues facing our food system today,” said Paul Wolfe, program officer for the Walton Family Foundation. “The Walton Family Foundation is proud to support Field to Market’s efforts to build a more sustainable and equitable agricultural sector throughout the United States.”
Other priority activities supported by the new award include a formal review of Field to Market’s biodiversity metric, GIS tools to improve project planning, development of a training program for sustainability data analysts, and research into innovative finance mechanisms to support farmers in accelerating improvement in environmental outcomes.
About Field to Market
Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture brings together a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, beverage, restaurant and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners to focus on defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. Field to Market is comprised of nearly 150 members representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, with members employing more than 5 million people and representing combined revenues totaling over $1.5 trillion.
About The Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. In 2019, the foundation awarded more than $525 million in grants in support of these initiatives. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
