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NPC NEWS
Outstanding third-year graduate student lands award for potato research
The Potato Leadership, Education and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) is pleased to announce Thilani Jayakody, a third-year graduate student in Michigan State University’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, as the recipient of its 2021-’22 Academic Scholarship. The $10,000 scholarship is provided annually to one graduate student with a strong interest in research that can directly benefit the U.S. potato industry. “Potato LEAF was created to ensure the long-term health of the U.S. potato industry by investing in its future leaders,” says the organization’s chair, Shelley Olsen. “We’re thrilled to support Thilani’s educational and research goals that will advance our collective knowledge and set us on the path for a better, more productive tomorrow.”
As a Ph.D. candidate and graduate research assistant, Jayakody’s work involves connecting her interests in genome editing with the applied goals of Michigan State’s breeding program. For her, these interests have been realized in the application of new breeding techniques for crop improvement, which have been propelled by the recent popularity of genome editing. “Currently, I’m working to reduce the effects of enzymatic browning through gene editing. I’m also working to understand the accuracy of new genome editing platforms, as these off-targeting effects are a major regulatory concern in accepting genome edited food crops,” Jayakody relates.
POTATO BREEDING
“I’m fortunate to be part of a dynamic and innovative community where I can pursue my research interests while contributing directly to the advancement of potato breeding,” she enthuses.
According to Dr. David S. Douches, professor and director of Michigan State University’s Potato Breeding and Genetics Program, who is overseeing Jayakody’s Ph.D. research project, she is an ideal candidate for the scholarship. In his letter of recommendation, Dr. Douches wrote that he sees Jayakody as “a model for a new generation of plant breeding and genetics graduates.” He continued, “Thilani easily meets the high standards I set for the graduate students in my program. She is a dedicated scientist who is mature, intelligent and hard working.”
Thilani Jayakody is the recipient of the 2021’22 Potato LEAF scholarship.
Jayakody is an active leader on campus, currently serving on the student-led Plant, Soil and Microbial Science Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. She also serves as a graduate student representative on the National Science Foundation’s Research Traineeship IMPACTS Curriculum Committee and is the recruitment chair for the Association for Crop and Soil Sciences (ACRS). Potato LEAF, a 501(c)3 organization, works to provide tools, training and support necessary to develop growers and industry members as leaders. As part of its mission to encourage and train future leaders, the organization seeks to support graduate-level researchers driving innovation within the potato industry. To learn more, visit https://pleaf.org.
Relief limited to small entities, leaving out majority of ag employers
On September 9, the Biden Administration announced $700 million in new funding intended to support entities that purchased personal protective equipment (PPE) and incurred vaccination costs and related expenses in combating COVID-19. Of that total, $650 million in the Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant program is targeted for the agriculture industry. “Over the past few months, the National Potato Council [NPC] and our partners in the agriculture industry have given feedback to USDA on the need to support those who incurred COVID-19 PPE and vaccination costs in the heavily impacted specialty crop sector,” says NPC Chief Executive Officer Kam Quarles. “Although we appreciate the intention of the announcement and release of these funds, unfortunately, certain limitations in the structure of the program will cause it to fall short of providing the necessary relief that the Administration and Congress intended,” he adds. Quarles notes that by limiting relief only to small entities, the program leaves out the majority of agricultural employers, particularly in the highcost specialty crop industry, which incurred substantial expenses in protecting its workforce.
NO DISTINCTION
“COVID-19 made no distinction in its threat to farmworkers and other essential employees at small, medium or large farms,” Quarles reasons. “Each of those workers required gear
and access to vaccines to keep them safe, and the entities that provided them should be eligible for support.” “This relief program draws a distinction when the virus did not,” Quarles continues. “Particularly, the ‘annual sales’ limitation makes a large number of financially-stressed employers ineligible for relief from these essential and costly actions.” “Our advice to USDA has been to support the actions that kept farmworkers safe, regardless of the size of the entity providing them,” he says. “The program does not meet that equitable goal, but we intend to continue working with Congress and the Administration to achieve it in the future,” Quarles concludes. What do you expect from the seed potatoes that you buy? Over 100 Years of Tradition
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Creating Valid and Transparent Carbon Markets
Are carbon markets the future, and can they be a new source of revenue for growers?
Provided by American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America
Growers may have heard the term “carbon sequestration.” Basically, it refers to keeping and returning carbon to the soil.
Since carbon is an element, how and why should this be done? One main reason is that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and increasing amounts have been determined by some to contribute to climate change. Agricultural practices can store carbon in the soil, and now carbon markets are creating incentives for farmers to consider changing some of their field management techniques
Above: Leaving last year’s crop residue on the field can increase soil carbon. Then, the next crop is planted with a no-tillage planter drill with minimal soil disturbance. This is one practice farmers can adopt to help them enter the carbon marketplace. The image shows corn seed being planted into crop residue. Photo courtesy of Rajveer Singh
to do so.
Carbon markets were the leading topic for the 2021 Sustainable Agronomy Conference, held on Tuesdays from July 20 through August 24, 2021, and available for streaming. Visit https://www.agronomy.org/ meetings/sustainable-agronomy/. Carbon storage in soil has both environmental and economic benefits. Plants pull carbon dioxide from the air and metabolize it into roots, shoots, leaves, and fruits or vegetables.
ORGANIC MATTER
When plants metabolize carbon dioxide into sugars and other building blocks, they become organic matter. By pulling carbon dioxide out of the air, plants reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. While living, plants send out organic matter into the soil where is it stored. If a plant is grown for crop production, the way farmers manage tillage, harvest and crop residue can have a great impact on the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
It may not be possible for all farmers to reduce tillage, or to grow crops that create more organic matter. But they can implement new practices that will change their impact on carbon use and storage. That’s where carbon markets come in.
The concept is simple. Farmers who implement new practices can enter carbon market programs. By providing proof of their practices (that’s the hard part), they can earn carbon credits.
Then, other companies, such as a manufacturer, can buy these credits to offset their carbon imprint. It’s a new source of potential revenue for farmers.
AT THE FOREFRONT
Jamie Ridgely was one of the presenters at the “Being Informed, Realistic, and Data-driven with Carbon Markets” session that ran on July 20. Ridgely, who works at
– Jamie Ridgely, Truterra, LLC
Truterra, LLC, is at the forefront of managing carbon markets. “The real work we are doing is about creating sustainable change in production agriculture to more regenerative systems,” says Ridgeley. “The carbon market provides an additional incentive.” At the forefront of this effort will be certified crop advisers and agronomists. They will be consulting with growers on what they need to do to participate in this potential revenue source.
“Agronomists, crop advisers and forward-thinking farmers are the key, not the hype about the markets,” says Ridgely. Advisers need to look at how farmers can transition into the new system in a realistic way that enhances their productivity. “We are looking at going from very low levels of adaptation to very high levels. And we need to make the scaling of this system sustainable and beneficial for the grower,” Ridgely stresses.
BUILDING TRUST
A current hurdle to getting more farmers into the carbon markets is the lack of information they can trust. Again, crop advisers will be crucial to the success of these programs. Although the short-term profits of entering the carbon market may be small, Ridgely says there is another message for the farmer. “Managing for soil health and moving to more regenerative practices lead to better productivity, too,” he notes. In addition, the value of the carbon credits will grow over time. Not only do farmers need to implement new practices, but they are also required to collect and validate a lot more data to enter the carbon marketplace. Regrow is an agri-food tech company whose mission is to “unlock potential
continued on pg. 60
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– Jamie Ridgely
of regenerative ag by enabling appropriate value of ecosystems,” says William Salas, chief strategy officer.
ENTERING CARBON MARKETS
Regrow provides a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification program for farmers.
“The goal is to make entering carbon markets as easy as possible and to collect scientifically verifiable data,” says Salas. “This system adds transparency and credibility to the marketplace.” “The data burdens can be quite high,” he adds.
Regrow has built a platform that can speak to all the grower platforms currently in use. The company has invested time and energy into databases full of rigorous measurements of carbon stock in farm soil.
Regrow has gone back to data from the 1980s and ’90s to create and verify its models.
If a plant is grown for crop production, the way farmers manage tillage, harvest and crop residue can have a great impact on the amount of carbon stored in the soil. It may not be possible for all farmers to reduce tillage, or to grow crops that create more organic matter. But they can implement new practices that will change their impact on carbon use and storage. That’s where carbon markets come in. Regrow provides a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification program for farmers and has built a platform that can speak to all the grower platforms currently in use.
“Currently, using satellite images, we can verify the actual practices being used in the field,” Salas explains. “We can determine when the farmer plants, what types of crops they are growing and other farm management practices,” he says. “We don’t need to have people go and check on each farm in person; it can all be done remotely.” “This saves time and money,” Salas notes, “and ensures the market that the farmer is continuing to implement the practices in his or her contracts, again, creating transparency.”
The Sustainable Agronomy Conference is hosted by the American Society of Agronomy. Registration for future webinars is still open, and the carbon market session recording is available to stream.
For more information, visit https:// www.agronomy.org/meetings/ sustainable-agronomy.
