Spudman April 2023 - 32

Measuring sustainability to manage
smarter potato production
The phrase " you
POTATO
SUSTAINABILITY
ALLIANCE
John Mesko
Executive director,
Potato Sustainability
Alliance
can't manage what
you don't measure "
has become a popular
part of the agricultural
lexicon, often used to
reinforce the value of
sustainable practices,
especially in potato
production today.
From planting
to processing -
and everything
in between -
benchmarking
success is contingent on strategically
adopting methods that improve efficiency
and efficacy. For almost a decade, the
Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) has
conducted an on-farm sustainability
survey to use as a benchmarking and
measurement tool. More than 500 potato
growers across North America participate
annually to assess the sustainability of
their production practices in multiple
areas of conservation.
Initially, the survey only focused on
integrated pest management practices,
according to Natalie Nesburg, data
specialist for PSA. But, as the industry
evolved, so did the scope of the survey,
which now covers more than a dozen
sustainability categories within cornerstone
conservation areas, including energy
efficiency, water management, soil health
and biodiversity.
Today, the resource is a foundational
part of PSA's expanding initiative to equip
growers and industry stakeholders with
access to knowledge that validates their
investment in environmental stewardship.
One way growers can measure progress
is through the PSA sustainability metric.
Production practices within the survey
correlate to four ascending levels of
sustainable performance: Basic, Steward,
Expert and Master. Levels are assigned to
practices based on their role in resource
conservation - higher levels indicate a
greater sustainable impact. The survey
metric evaluates the number of practices
32
Spudman * April 2023
being implemented at each level and
aggregates that data into an overall
sustainability score.
" One of the main questions we get from
growers is, 'Am I sustainable?' " Nesburg
said. " The survey, and the grower's overall
sustainability score, aims to answer that
question by translating the sustainable
impact of their current production
practices into a metric that can be used
to easily benchmark and communicate
improvements over time. "
Since 2018, the PSA survey results have
shown progressive adoption of sustainable
practices, with the greatest gains coming
in soil, water and energy conservation. A
few high-level examples identified by the
survey include:
* Rotation of crops that produce or recycle
nitrogen as an alternative to commercial
fertilizer on at least 25% of farm fields
since the last potato crop.
* Exclusive use of pressurized irrigation
systems and practices such as drip,
reels, guns, wheel lines, solid set, center
pivot or linear move.
* Adoption of advanced software tools like
Cool Farm Tool and FieldPrint Calculator
to measure and manage greenhouse gas
production.
" Globally, and throughout the supply
chain, we are seeing sustainability goals
drive the focus and implementation of
on-farm production practices. Our survey
results tell that story, along with the
sustainable initiatives that growers have
been implementing all along, " Nesburg said.
" We want to communicate the hard work
that has been done by growers to produce
potatoes sustainability, as well as highlight
opportunities to improve. "
John Mesko draws from an extensive
and diverse agriculture background and
provides expertise to farmers implementing
sustainable farming practices.

Spudman April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman April 2023

Spudman April 2023 - 1
Spudman April 2023 - 1A
Spudman April 2023 - 2A
Spudman April 2023 - 2
Spudman April 2023 - 3
Spudman April 2023 - 4
Spudman April 2023 - 5
Spudman April 2023 - 6
Spudman April 2023 - 7
Spudman April 2023 - 8
Spudman April 2023 - 9
Spudman April 2023 - 10
Spudman April 2023 - 11
Spudman April 2023 - 12
Spudman April 2023 - 13
Spudman April 2023 - 14
Spudman April 2023 - 15
Spudman April 2023 - 16
Spudman April 2023 - 17
Spudman April 2023 - 18
Spudman April 2023 - 19
Spudman April 2023 - 20
Spudman April 2023 - 21
Spudman April 2023 - 22
Spudman April 2023 - 23
Spudman April 2023 - 24
Spudman April 2023 - 25
Spudman April 2023 - 26
Spudman April 2023 - 27
Spudman April 2023 - 28
Spudman April 2023 - 29
Spudman April 2023 - 30
Spudman April 2023 - 31
Spudman April 2023 - 32
Spudman April 2023 - 33
Spudman April 2023 - 34
Spudman April 2023 - 35
Spudman April 2023 - 36
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-potato-expo-2025-digital-guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-july-august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-july-august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/basf-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2019
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com