The Mosaic Company

It’s simple: if we are to feed the world’s growing population, we must produce more food. Over two billion people face moderate to severe food insecurity every year, and the global population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. To meet this demand, experts estimate that we may need to double current food production, in part because rising income levels increase demand for products like meat that have large agriculture “footprints.” 

The key is that we must do this sustainably, without destroying the natural resources that sustain life on Earth. Those include the forests that clean the air we breathe and water, which we rely on for drinking, growing our food and manufacturing many of the products that fuel our economies. 

The Sustainable Solution

There is a sustainable path forward. We can increase food production on existing agricultural lands without degrading water quality or other vital natural resources. Fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphorous provide critical nutrition to crop plants and are already responsible for 40% to 60% of the crop yields we see today. While this is significant, we must further boost agricultural productivity by utilizing science-based innovations and best management practices to improve crop efficiency and increase yields on underperforming lands.

This is the vision shared by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and global agribusinesses like The Mosaic Company. Mosaic, the world’s leading producer of concentrated phosphate and potash, supplies essential crop nutrients that help farmers grow more food per acre. However, improper use can lead to water pollution and ecosystem disruption. That’s why innovation and best management practices are critical to achieving both production and environmental goals.

Reducing agriculture’s impact on water

One of TNC's North America Agriculture 2030 goals consists of enhancing conservation outcomes - such as improvement of water resources, soil health and livelihoods - on 50% of U.S. crop acres. This is achieved through in-field practices such as reduced tillage, cover cropping and improved nutrient management; as well as edge-of-field (EoF) practices such as vegetated field buffers and restored wetlands.

One of our key strategies in this effort is supporting producers and trusted advisors to build awareness and acceptance of regenerative practices within the farming community.

While programs like the Soil Health Partnership, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative and 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification have made significant progress to increase the use of regenerative agriculture practices, more work is needed to accelerate adoption, especially for EoF practices. 

Enhancing edge-of-field practices in Indiana

With support from The Mosaic Company Foundation for Sustainable Food Systems (The Foundation) and others, TNC has established an EoF Agriculture Drainage Demo Network to synergize the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices at farm sites across central Indiana. The Foundation’s grant enables TNC to demonstrate the value of EoF practices such as bioreactors and phosphorous removal structures.

Mosaic’s funding also supports monitoring efforts to track water flow and quality, and to engage landowners in learning and adopting these practices. While crop nutrients are essential to feeding the world, they must be applied using the right source, at the right time, in the right place and at the right rate to mitigate the potential for nutrient runoff. Farms of all sizes must adopt best management practices to protect water supplies and ecosystems. 

Improving Iowa’s lakes through community-led innovation

Building on successful farmer-led conservation networks in other states, TNC is now focusing on Iowa’s Great Lake Region. With a $450,000 grant from The Mosaic Company, TNC is scaling in-field and EoF practices to improve water quality benefits.

This funding supports the formation of a farmer-led peer learning network to provide outreach, education and cost-share opportunities to farmers in the Iowa Great Lakes Region and their surrounding watersheds, comprising portions of Dickinson and Palo Alto counties in Iowa and Jackson County, Minnesota. Farmers often trust and learn best from one another; therefore, a well-facilitated farmer-led group provides a means to engage farmers who are hard to reach via traditional conservation efforts. Project staff will work with farmer leaders to create a space for local farmers to convene, troubleshoot and share lessons learned.

The project also includes a water quality modeling component to guide the selection and placement of the most effective conservation practices within the lake sheds and to track progress. Mosaic’s support extends to on-the-ground technical assistance from TNC staff and partners, as well as in-lake, in-channel and near-channel conservation efforts to holistically address nutrient concerns in and around the lakes.