Land O'Lakes Conservation Tool

To help farmers look at various stewardship practices and the effects on their lands, Minneapolis-based farmer cooperative Land O'Lakes on Monday rolled out a new software program called the Truterra Insights Engine. Jason Weller, sustainability director for Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN program, said he saw a lot of shared goals between agricultural retailers and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service when he served as the agency's chief. The goals centered on sharing long-term economic success with farmers, he said. Still, Weller added, there was also some disconnect between NRCS and retailers, or agronomy advisers."More often, they were ships passing in the night and not on the same page in terms of recommendations, certainly with technology, but it just starts foundationally with what is the best way to start a conversation with a farmer about adopting additional conservation on their operation," Weller said.