Soil health is the foundation for agricultural sustainability and a driver of global food security. The United Nations created World Soil Day to raise awareness about the growing challenges in soil management and to encourage improved soil health.
Made up of three pillars, sustainability’s guiding principles are:
- Environment
- Society
- Economics
These three drivers must intersect to achieve sustainability, and that intersection is where U.S. Borax conducts business. To ensure that we are an agriculture sustainability leader, we partner with organizations who hold longstanding commitments to sustainability that mirror our own.
Respecting the 4Rs
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) maintains a library of safety, security, sustainability, stewardship, and efficiency metrics dating back to 2013. They work as a guiding light for an industry charged with maintaining a safe and affordable food supply.
As a member of TFI, we promote and educate our customers about the 4Rs of fertilizer management—the right source of fertilizer, applied at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. We are also proud to serve as the voice of the micronutrient industry on TFI’s micronutrient committee and 4R nutrient stewardship committee.
Minimizing human impact
Rio Tinto is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a group working to minimize the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil producing regions.
Our work in education and responsible nutrient management doesn’t stop with these partnerships. We are committed to providing education, not only around the importance of boron in plant microbiomes, but also in its role in a healthy soil microbiome.
Increasing crop yield with healthy soil
For the third year, U.S. Borax was a flagship sponsor of Boron Day, a multi-day event focused on the importance of boron in crop production, healthy soils, and human well-being. The event reached more than 4,500 people from 31 different countries with a message of boron stewardship.
Understanding the latest soil research
Our team at U.S. Borax knows that it will take us all, working together to achieve the healthy soils that promise sustainability across the agriculture industry. As a micronutrient fertilizer company, we recognize the irreplaceable role biology plays in building soil health and nutrient cycling. That’s why this past summer, we teamed up with Dr. James White, Rutgers University, to share his team’s work on the rhizophagy cycle.
The four-part blog series chronicled White’s work and thought leadership on the role microbes play in colonizing the soil microbiome. The series investigated and redefined what agriculture knows about:
A better future
World Soil Day provides us an opportunity to reflect on the advancements, innovations, and knowledge we, as an industry, need to ensure continued success in the fight against climate change and its potential to intensify food insecurity. We encourage you to take a moment and review your soil health management practices to set goals for improvement in 2022 cropping strategies.
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