b"Is a Standardized Measurement of Sustainability on the Horizon? The PSA is working towards streamlining sustainability data within the supply chain for potato producers. BY: ALLY RODENREGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND other pledges towards green practices are nothing new in the business or agriculture worlds. Over the past few decades, more companies have shared and enforced sustainability practicesand this is no different for the potato industry. In response to this sustainability push, producers have been put in the spotlight to adopt new practices or enhance their decade-long efforts to meet high industry expectations.As todays world demands greater sustainability from food systems, the Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) is working to answer this call for the potato industry. For the past decade, the PSA has worked to define, measure and report on the sustainability story for potatoes, according to John Mesko, executive director of PSA. Our mission is to support the movement of the potato industry towards more sustainable production practices, helpJolyn Rasmussen, seniorJohn Mesko, executive director people understand the impact of their farming practices, collectmanager of raw developmentof the Potato Sustainability and sustainability at J.R. SimplotAlliancethe information generated by those practices on the variousand the Potato Sustainability elements of sustainability and then facilitate a streamlinedAlliances board chairreporting process, he says in an interview with Spud Smart.Through an annual sustainability survey of more than 500 potato growers across North America, the PSA collectsworking together to provide a measurement tool solution around information on nitrogen use efficiency, irrigation use efficiency,sustainability, instead of waiting for the supply chain to tell us greenhouse gas emissions, pesticide risk, worker safety andwhat to do, is huge. We can do it proactively instead of waiting waste/recycling. for regulation and legislation to tell us how we're going to The need within the supply chain for sustainability datameasure sustainability, she explains.is growing, as the supply chain seeks to understand the sustainability of potato production, adds Mesko. The PSA Tends to Producers NeedsFor Jolyn Rasmussen, senior manager of raw developmentTo meet this need for information for its members and from the and sustainability at J.R. Simplot and PSA board chair, theindustry, PSA is streamlining data requirement from producers. opportunities for sustainability that PSA offers were enticing.Currently, there are an overwhelming number of organizations Rasmussen joined the PSA board in 2018, eager to take part inand entities requesting information. The supply chain has shown the leadership of the movement towards successful sustainabilityan increased interest in data on sustainability, greenhouse gases measurement for the benefit of Simplot customers and growers.specifically carbon footprintsand the management of Everybody wants to do what's right and do sustainabilityemployees. This results in potato farmers filling out an excess of well, and PSA offers a place that you can network, work togethersurveys that explain how their farming practices are impacting and align as an industry around sustainability initiatives, whileenvironmental sustainability to different parts of the supply minimizing grower burden, says Rasmussen. chain. The PSA hopes to streamline that process, developing one This influence on the industry and future decisions is whatstandardized survey for potato growers in North America.makes the PSA so valuable for its members, whether that beAndy Diercks, a fourth-generation grower at Coloma Farms larger companies like Simplot or smaller, family-owned farms,and PSA board member, is one of the farmers in North America believes Rasmussen.that has felt these impacts directly. At Diercks 2,700-acre family Having an influence on the industry to make sure that we'refarm in Coloma, Wisc. managed by himself and his father Steve, 22SPUDSMART.COM Winter 2023"