For America’s Conservation Ag Movement Partner Valent U.S.A., a commitment to sustainability is woven into the input leader’s corporate fabric, in large part because of its owner, Sumitomo Chemical, which has been committed to the practice since its inception in 1913.
As the agriculture industry places more emphasis on sustainability, Valent U.S.A. is relying upon those principles to guide their decision-making process around which tools they bring to address mounting pressures, from innovation all the way through to the growers who utilize them.
Valent U.S.A. recently partnered with America’s Conservation Ag Movement to examine the role that sustainability plays throughout the lifespan of their products, and how it impacts decision-making from both trusted advisors and growers.
In the video, titled “People, Planet and Productivity,” President and CEO Matt Plitt shares how the company structures its thinking around sustainability.
“So we have two platforms when it comes to sustainability,” he says. “One is around corporate sustainability — that’s the role we play in industry in terms of how we make a contribution to the industry lead, trained, educate and invest in sustainability. The other is more of the commercial platform — that’s how our products actually help growers on the farm.
“We look at both of those platforms in the area of people, planet and productivity.”
Recently, the company introduced its Sustainable Solutions Criteria initiative, which brings the latter into sharp focus for growers.
According to grower and retailer partners, the company’s forward-facing outlook on sustainability is making a difference.
“We want to be able to work with companies that are working on sustainability, because they seem to be a little bit farther ahead than what I can do on my own farm,” says Rob Shaffer, an Illinois grower and Valent U.S.A. customer. “That’s the kind of thing that’ll help me go further and in my career and also, hopefully turn over our farm to the next generation.”
Visit America’s Conservation Ag Movement to see other videos from USDA-NRCS and other ACAM partners and to learn how the coalition is helping to support growers in their climate-smart journey.
