Today’s farmers use both innovation and stewardship to meet growing global demand

As we celebrate National Ag Day, it is an opportunity to recognize America’s farmers not only for the amount of food, feed, fuel and fiber they produce, but also for how they produce it.

For decades, agricultural innovations have driven increases in productivity, efficiency and quality of the crops and livestock that farmers grow. Along with those increases, farmer commitments to stewardship of those technologies, land and water resources, crops and animals, and their communities have also grown. 

In my role at Corteva Agriscience, I am honored to work with team members around the world to help farmers responsibly and effectively use the seed, crop protection and other product innovations we bring to the marketplace to increase production and protect our natural resources. I am also proud to be the third generation of an Iowa farm family. My father and grandfather raised corn and soybeans on our family’s farm, and now as my son, Jacob, and I are actively farming, we have been able to see the positive impacts of innovation over the years.

A soil conservation plan from 1947 from my grandparents’ original family farm showed that the actual yield of open pollinated varieties of corn was 30 bushels per acre, with a goal to raise 67 bushels per acre in 1948 by adopting double-cross hybrid corn. That’s more than doubling production by adopting hybrid corn technology! As time passed, my parents acquired land across the county. In the 1970’s, my father’s goal was to raise 125-bushel per acre corn and that grew to 150 bushels per acre in the 1980s. Over the next two decades, our average yields continued to improve as we adopted new technology and genetics, seeing our farm yields grow well beyond the 200 bushels per acre mark.

That increase in productivity mirrors average yields across the United States, driven by improved seed genetics, management practices, and inputs to improve fertility and control weeds, insects and diseases. In fact, the corn seed we’ve planted in recent years are hybrids that include multiple biotech traits that protect against insects and provide herbicide tolerance. These hybrids also feature in-the-bag refuge seed (a product innovation that I helped launch in the early 2010s) to ensure we are meeting our refuge requirements, which ultimately protects the long-term effectiveness of Bt technology.  In addition to increasing our yields, my sons and I have expanded the soil conservation methods that my grandfather began years ago to include terraces, tiling, buffer strips and reduced and no till practices.

It is abundantly clear that farmers are the original and the best stewards of our natural resources. As farmers face ever-changing challenges from weather, pests, and disease, our team of researchers, agronomists and more are focused on delivering innovative solutions. And, as the world’s population and demand for food continues to grow, so does the need for stewardship to help farmers succeed, protect the environment and ensure that our communities thrive. That’s why Corteva continues to work side-by-side with farmers to provide seed products and management recommendations to help farmers be more sustainable and productive.

Let’s celebrate the role of farmers and our agriculture industry in feeding, fueling a growing world population, protecting our land, water and air resources, and building strong, vibrant communities on National Ag Day and every day!