Featured Reports on Sustainability

Sector: Crop, Livestock, Fishery and Forestry

Source: Environmental Protection Agency or one of the agencies of the Department of Agriculture

Topic: U.S. federal laws

Summary: A comprehensive set of papers that summarizes major U.S. federal laws that affect the crop, livestock, fishery and forestry sectors.

Description: An overview is provided for each major law or policy area, along with background on why the policy was enacted, details on the program’s operation and administration, and the statutory basis (references to the U.S. Code [U.S.C.]). It also provides links to web-based information on each policy area with emphasis on official U.S. government sites. The document contains all the policies and laws found in the U.S. Sustainability section of this web site. The summaries are accurate as of late 2020, and include changes made to several programs by the Agricultural Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill).

Sector: Waste, Carbon, By Products

Source: The Leather & Hide Council of America

Topic: Waste, Carbon

Summary: Research establishes leather is a by-product, showing no direct link between leather use and cattle numbers

Description: Leather’s status as a by-product is examined in this report, as informed by a quantitative economic analysis commissioned by the Leather and Hide Council of America. Led by Dr. Gary W. Brester, Professor Emeritus at Montana State University, and leading Agricultural Economist Dr. Kole Swanser, PhD., the research tracks government data over 25 years to ascertain if cattle hide prices directly affect cattle production.

Sector: Farming

Source: The National Pork Board

Topic: Conservation, Sustainability reporting & metrics

Summary: An overview of the U.S. pork industry’s sustainability progress over the past six decades and its goals for continuous improvement

Description: The National Pork Board’s first-ever sustainability report tracks the pork industry’s progress in reducing its environmental impact over the past six decades. It also outlines its new sustainability goals and the data-driven metrics it will be using to measure improvements. Access the report and learn more about the sustainable pork supply chain and what sustainability means to the U.S. pork industry, in the words of the pork producers themselves.

Sector: Farming

Source: The United Soybean Board

Topic: Conservation, Sustainability reporting & metrics

Summary: A summary of U.S. Soy’s sustainability goals for 2025, reflecting on four decades of sustainability progress

Description: The inaugural U.S. Soy Sustainability Overview charts 40 years of sustainability progress while outlining the additional improvements the U.S. soy industry is targeting by 2025. Learn more about the climate-smart practices U.S. soybean farmers are using, from conservation tillage to the latest innovations in biotechnology. And read about how these practices are making a difference through case studies from the farmers themselves.

Sector: Farming, Forestry and Fisheries

Source: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Topic: Science, Technology and Innovation

Summary: An annual overview of USDA technology and innovations that are solving agricultural problems

Description: USDA agencies, from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), play a vital role in technology transfer – helping drive the adoption of research solutions for public benefit. The FY 2021 Technology Transfer report shares their latest accomplishments, including a patent-pending robotic apple harvesting technology, new peanut cultivars with disease resistance, and a unique forecasting tool for quantifying the chance of wildfire ‘ignitions’ up to 10 days in advance.

Sector: Farming and Fisheries

Source: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Topic: Market projections, market trends

Summary: An annual publication outlining market projections for major agricultural commodities, biofuels and fish that supports forward-looking policy analysis and planning

Description: The annual Agricultural Outlook from the OECD and FAO provides a consensus assessment of the ten-year prospects for 40 farm and fisheries products at a regional, national, and global level. Access the latest intelligence on trends and drivers of performance in the agri-food sector, and explore market developments, risks, and medium-term projections for commodities ranging from dairy and meat to cotton and oilseed products.