With the backing of a two-year Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farmland LP has been able to enrich its impact reporting through its 2017 Impact Report summarizing the social and environmental impacts of Vital Farmland LP (Fund I) and Vital Farmland REIT LLC (Fund II).
Through its funds, Farmland LP purchases conventionally-farmed operations, and integrates sustainable production methods and management systems with the multi-faceted goal of generating competitive return on investment, while also realizing positive environmental and social effect. However, the ability to quantify these “tangible but hidden” metrics, which are not included in financial statements, are only now being developed.
Working with its partners Delta Institute and Earth Economics, Farmland employed Ecosystem Service Valuation (ESV) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting models on a field-by-field basis to quantify biophysical, and on a deeper level, ecosystem service valuation metrics that reflect the environmental, social, and economic value that Farmland’s managed farms generate through clean water, biodiversity, healthy pollinator habitats, and improved soil.
Together with mapping generated by Farmland LP’s Geographical Information System (GIS) and management data from its farms, Farmland LP employed a combination of three models to quantify biophysical and ecosystem service values:
The Ecosystem Value Toolkit (EVT) – a primary reporting tool that uses a set of calculators to estimate the dollar value of ESV generated by each property.
COMET-Farm – Developed by the USDA NRCS and Colorado State University, COMET-Farm estimates the carbon footprint of a farm or ranch based on information on management practices and spatially-specific data on climate and soil conditions.
Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) – Developed by the USDA and the University of Tennessee, RUSLE estimates soil loss due to sheet and till erosion.
Reflecting Farmland’s commitment to generating returns while changing how farmland is managed for the betterment of the environment and society, the 6,011 acres of farmland valued at $85 million under Fund I generated $12.9 million in ecosystem service value since inception. For comparison, these same properties would have caused $8.5 million in ecosystem harm over the same time period if operated conventionally – meaning, that Farmland’s sustainable management has generated a total $21.4 million in net ecosystem service value benefit in addition to the 67 percent net financial gain in the fund.
To read Farmland LP’s in-depth analysis and report on the quantitative values of regenerative agriculture click here.
-Lynda Kiernan