It all starts with the soil. Healthy soil enables renewable, sustainable, carbon raw materials. Around our plant in Luverne, Minnesota, soil carbon is increasing as farmers use sustainable farming practices.
The crops are growing, year after year. Thanks to low-till and no-till farming methods, such as zone-tilling, the carbon is being sequestered in the soil. The benefits to the farmer are substantial, as much of the stover remains in the fields, while some goes to feed livestock, which contribute manure to fertilize the fields. This makes for less synthetic fertilizer required to be bought and spread, which means the farmer has to invest less to have better yield.
We’d like to see a business system that links and rewards farmers for improving sustainability of growing crops and improving the land and ecosystems. What will it take? It takes a business system that values sustainability throughout the whole supply chain. Gevo has the potential to make the connections happen and accelerate sustainable development of and growth of growing raw materials to displace petro-based carbon.
