Agribusiness cultivating value through sustainability

Agricultural businesses of all sizes have created programs in recent years and published annual reports that recognize that their end results are inextricably linked to sustainable crop production and processing methods that can be traced throughout their value chain and respond to consumer concerns. This trend comes as no surprise to Marin Elisabeth Skidmore, adjunct professor of the Department of Agricultural Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who studies the economics of sustainable agriculture. She said that producers might be interested and willing to adopt sustainable practices, but they often lack the resources available to larger agribusinesses. Working together, the goals become achievable. “Some of these investments can be very difficult for an individual farmer to make,” said Skidmore. “They require high fixed costs or have steep learning curves over a long period. These companies have capital and a shared desire for a sustainable ...