Purdue, Bayer team up to address regenerative agriculture
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Purdue University and Germany-based Bayer have announced a public-private partnership aimed at improving the soil health of farmland while increasing food production.
The Coalition for Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture will be based out of Bayer’s innovation center at Discovery Park District at Purdue.
The university said the mission of the coalition is to generate real-world data in support of regenerative agriculture practices to “help farmers restore soil health and biomass, increase biodiversity, and improve the resiliency of ecosystems over time.”
“America’s farmers are already global leaders in providing food worldwide, supplying a substantial amount of grain, meat and other agricultural products,” Karen Plaut, Purdue’s executive vice president for research, said in a news release. “But with population projections of 9 billion people in the coming years, it’s critical to provide the tools necessary to support those farmers who are called upon to produce even more while also serving as stewards of the land.”
To achieve its goal of adopting agricultural systems that restore soil, water and wildlife, while making farms healthier and more resilient, the coalition will focus on four key areas:
- Climate-smart agriculture: Integrate technology to adapt to changing weather patterns, improve water management and optimize resource use.
- Regenerative practices: Develop more robust practices that capture and store carbon in the soil. Promote techniques that improve soil health and biodiversity and enhance long-term productivity.
- Farmer empowerment: Provide farmers with the tools, knowledge and resources they need to adopt sustainable practices and access premium markets for their products.
- Profitability and policy advocacy: Provide additional scientific research that supports or incentivizes sustainable practices for farmers and landowners.
“I couldn’t be more excited to see us working alongside like-minded partners such as Purdue University, who are committed to helping scale regenerative ag practices,” said Bob Reiter, head of research and development at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Through our suite of technologies, we are able to leverage these innovations and help facilitate regenerative ag practice adoption that boosts farmer productivity and creates maximum impact for the environment.”
Purdue said the partnership is expected to expand to include other partners from the ag sector, which will allow for a larger network of field sites to test and collect data.