A Commitment to Sustainable Agriculture: An Interview with Premier Leadership About Our In-house Conservation Specialist

Premier Companies has recently filled a new position on our team for a Conservation Specialist. This role will foster cooperation across departments and expand programs like Land O’ Lakes Truterra in southern Indiana. By assisting farmers and collaborating with conservation organizations, the Conservation Specialist aims to demonstrate that sustainability and profitability can coexist, enhancing both for Premier Ag’s growers.

We recently sat down with the Leadership Team at Premier to discuss this role in more detail and the importance it plays for our company, our members, and our community.

Q: What motivated Premier Companies to create the Conservation Specialist role, and how does it align with the company’s overall mission and sustainability goals?

This role fits into several of Premier Companies core values, community, integrity and being forward-thinking about the ag industry and sustainability.

Sydney Calhoun, Premier Ag’s Conservation Specialist, will have opportunities to share the conservation story of our farmer owners to the communities we work in. Premier believes that having the integrity to do what is right often involves making the harder choices and is seldom the easiest way to do a job.

Being progressive to us means advancing row crop agriculture and moving forward with conservation practices will help farmers and Premier Ag ensure we are meeting the sustainability goals necessary to meet the future needs of production agriculture.

Q: How do you envision the Conservation Specialist contributing to Premier Companies’ current sustainability initiatives and long-term environmental impact reduction strategies?

We believe that having a Conservation Specialist will not only increase the focus we bring to bear on sustainability, but will also increase awareness of the benefits that soil conservation can bring.

A Conservation Specialist will help growers navigate through any challenges associated with incorporating cover crops into their cropping system while increasing the number of farmers and acres in southern Indiana utilizing conservation practices.

Q: Can you provide insights into the specific responsibilities and expectations you have for the Conservation Specialist in terms of driving positive environmental change within the company and the broader community?

First and foremost, we expect the Conservation Specialist to build capacity and expertise concerning natural resource conservation practices and help to identify opportunities with USDA and state cost-share programs to benefit our growers.

This will require coordinating training opportunities for Premier Ag staff on state and USDA conservation programs to improve awareness, developing a pathway for farmer access to assistance, and on-the-ground coordination with conservation staff and organizations, such as National Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife Private Lands Biologists, and NRCS Field Office staff.

Ultimately, we want to help farmers adopt and maintain conservation practices and then enable them to tell their own compelling story of sustainability.

Q: Given the importance of cross-departmental collaboration, how do you anticipate integrating the Conservation Specialist into existing teams and fostering cooperation between departments to achieve shared sustainability objectives?

This new position expands upon our already established conservation efforts with Land O’ Lakes Truterra conservation programs. Having this partnership between public and private entities will bolster our efforts to expand sustainable and conservation practices in southern Indiana. We expect this Conservation Specialist role will fit seamlessly into Premier Ag’s existing culture of collaboration and cooperation between departments and individual roles.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?

With this opportunity, Premier Ag wants to serve in a leadership role to advance public-private partnerships through state and federal conservation programs, such as USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and other relevant state and local programs for the enhancement of our grower’s sustainability and profitability. We believe that sustainability and profitability do not need to be an either-or decision, with success of one being at the expense of the other.

In addition to interviewing Premier Leadership, we also had the opportunity to sit down with the new Conservation Specialist, Sydney Calhoun, to learn more about her and what she hopes to bring to the role. Click the link to read her interview.