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Epilogue: Ag giants
promise to help farmers We’re .essentially .
combat climate change improving .the .

Some of the largest suppliers of production .of .protein .by .
farm inputs have made com- making .the .system .more .
mitments to help farmers in the efficient .
United States and globally to
address climate change while —Sara Place, .Elanco
the companies work to reduce
their in-house environmental
footprint. The study estimated that improving animal
health monitoring and illness prevention would
Corteva Agriscience announced pledges this prevent 411 million tons of greenhouse gas
year to help farmers sustainably increase crop emissions at a cost of about $5 a ton. Southeast
yields by 20% while reducing greenhouse gas Asia and sub-Saharan Africa would especially
emissions by 20% compared to what they are benefit.
this year.
By comparison, expanding the use of methane
Corteva also set 2030 targets to improve soil digesters to capture biogas from manure would
health on 74 million acres globally and to reduce reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 260 million
water consumption while increasing yields on tons at a cost of $92 a ton, the study found.
6.2 million acres of seed production and water-
stressed land. “We’re essentially improving the production
of protein by making the system more efficient
“We’ll provide tools and innovations to improve and also reducing the resources and emissions
soil health to increase the capacity of crops to required,” said Sara Place, Elanco’s chief sus-
withstand weather variability, enhance air and tainability officer.
water quality, and support thriving habitats,” the
company says. Elanco acquired Bayer’s animal health business
earlier this year, expanding the company’s global
Meanwhile, rival Bayer set a goal of reduc- reach.
ing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in large
agricultural markets. “This is to be achieved by
focusing on the most emissions-intensive forms
of cultivation in the regions where the company
operates,” the company said.

Elanco Animal Health’s goal is to make it pos-
sible for “57 million more people to access their
annual nutritious protein needs.” That comes
down to keeping more food animals healthy,
which may sound simply self serving for an
animal drug company. But it also happens to
be one of the most cost-effective ways globally
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agri-
culture, including to the study by McKinsey
and Co.

54 www.Agri-Pulse.com