Sustainability

Shaping Future Opportunity In Farmland Ownership

The United States has over 895 million acres of farmland with the primary function of producing food, feed, and fiber for the world. This massive land resource also provides critical ecosystem functions for our larger landscape by regulating water flow, supporting animal habitat and biodiversity, buffering pollutants, cycling carbon dioxide, and much more. We will also see farmland play a critical role in the low-carbon energy and net zero economy transitions in the next 25 years.

Farmland assets achieve maximum long-term financial performance by recognizing these critical sustainability functions and implementing asset management strategies that embrace farmland’s role in global human and environmental outcomes. Because of this, Peoples Company is a founding member and active participant in the Leading Harvest's inaugural Farmland Management Standard.

Socially Responsible Land Management

Sustainability is built into everything we do for two simple reasons: farmland’s global sustainability role is critical and growing substantially over the coming decades. We work tirelessly to maximize outcomes for our clients – in farmland that requires a clear focus on long-term asset sustainability.

Peoples Company’s management approach addresses soil health improvement through erosion control, drainage, balanced fertility, and extending living cover. We strive to manage each farm for appreciation and sustainability through socially responsible farming practices. Our commitment to sustainability focuses our work on what is best for each farm today as well as tomorrow.

CONSERVATION

Peoples Company’s proprietary farm lease addresses the impact of farming practices on soil erosion and water quality at an individual farm level, including tillage practices, crop rotation, permanent seeding (including CRP), cover crops, and the placement of commercial fertilizers.

DRAINAGE

Land Managers seek to work with the natural topography of each asset to reduce soil erosion and compaction. This is a combination of in-field and edge-of-field practices to increase water-holding capacity and filtering as water flows across a farm.

FERTILITY

The amount, timing, and placement of commercial fertilizers is critical to water quality and soil fertility. Peoples Company Land Managers compare crop removal (yields), crop nutrients applied by the operator, and schedule regular soil tests to measure progress toward a goal of balanced soil fertility.

YIELDS

Peoples Company's strategy to merge soil conservation and adequate drainage with balanced soil fertility translates into a probability for increasing crop yields.

We Can Help

Advances in technology and production practices prove that profitability and sustainability coexist. A smart and targeted approach to sustainability can improve the bottom line of a farm and farmer’s operation by increasing yield and diversifying alternative revenue streams.

Change in any operation can be challenging, and the initial transition to a more sustainable farming approach often benefits from peer networking and cost-share funding. Contact Peoples Company Director of Sustainability, Mollie Aronowitz, for additional information at Mollie@PeoplesCompany.com or 855.800.LAND.

Leading Harvest Standard

Peoples Company enrolls all managed acres in the Leading Harvest sustainability standard. The standard has been developed to measure and validate sustainability outcomes through a third-party auditing process. Peoples Company was the first private farm management firm in the country to enroll its entire portfolio of managed lands in Leading Harvest and achieve certification.

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Sustainability Cover Crop Initiative

Peoples Company has pioneered private partnerships to support landowner adoption of cover crop utilization. Cover crops are a core practice for improving soil health and increasing soil organic matter. Peoples Company also supports clients to utilize funding programs available at the local, state, and federal levels to improve sustainability through cover crop utilization.

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Organic Transitions

Consumers are asking for increased transparency in their food production. Organically certified products deliver transparency with strict standards associated with management practices. Peoples Company has supported the organic transition and ongoing management of organically certified assets across the U.S.

Regenerative Practices

Regenerative practices are another mechanism providing consumers with increased food production transparency. Regenerative practices also build soil health, reduce fertilizer requirements, and improve biodiversity. Peoples Company engages regenerative concepts including integrated animal grazing and sustainable rice production.

Net Zero

Achieving the stated goal of a net-zero economy by 2050 will require farmland to sequester hundreds of millions of tons of carbon into the soil every year. Emerging markets will financially support the adoption of the practices required to sequester carbon. Peoples Company supports our clients to activate their assets for the net-zero transition.

Ecosystem Services

Farmland provides a broad set of environmental and social services to society. Many of the social services can create value for landowners while realizing a core component of farmland’s sustainability role. Peoples Company ensures environmental service delivery through the Leading Harvest certification on all acres, and actively pursues engaging social services through recreational opportunities on behalf of clients.

Renewable Energy

Farmland will play a critical role in the low-carbon energy transition over the coming decades. Peoples Company has renewable energy experts actively working for our clients to realize the potential for farmland to lead this transition.

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Shared Values And Goals

The best farming practices evolve over time with advances in equipment, technology, and our understanding of the working landscape. Peoples Company seeks to partner and support the expertise, programs, and peer networks driving today’s sustainable farming for tomorrow.