Ep. 4 – The Story Our Data Tells

John Mesko: (00:06)

Resource Positive Agriculture describes what we all want, a food and farming system which makes full and responsible use of the natural world. In this podcast, I’ll explore how agriculture can be a force for good on everything from the environment to people and our society.

John Mesko: (00:31)

Hi, this is John Mesko, the Executive Director of Potato Sustainability Alliance, and welcome to the Resource Positive Agriculture Podcast. My guest today is Natalie Nesburg, who is PSA’s Data Specialist. Welcome, Natalie.

Natalie Nesburg: (00:45)

Hi. Thanks, John. Happy to be here.

John Mesko: (00:48)

Natalie and I work together for PSA, and one of the big projects that we’ve worked on over the last year has been really getting our arms around the existing PSA dataset. A lot of people maybe don’t realize that PSA’s been collecting on-farm data for many years, and Natalie is the keeper of that data. She is the person who helps orchestrate the survey going forward to collect new sets of data from farmers and from processors about how potatoes are grown sustainably.

John Mesko: (01:25)

I want to talk to you this morning, Natalie, a little bit about some of the things that have been done in the dataset and where we can go in the future with it. So maybe you could give us just a little bit of an overview of the kinds of information that we collect, where we get it from, and what kind of analysis we are currently doing with this data.

Natalie Nesburg: (01:50)

We collect data from both growers and processors and fresh marketers to help them track their progress in different areas of sustainability. So we have a performance level metric, which is basic, steward, expert, and master, and that’s used for growers to score their performance level practices on the surveys so they can see where they fall on the sustainability spectrum.

Natalie Nesburg: (02:13)

And then we also have nutrient use efficiency and irrigation use efficiency, that’s data that’s collected from aggregators who are our processors and fresh marketers because they’re providing that data to us and getting it together for us. So they’ll submit their fertilizer use information and then also information regarding their irrigation. And from that information, we can then calculate their greenhouse gas emissions.

Natalie Nesburg: (02:37)

We also have a pesticide risk metric and waste, and recycling and worker safety to give us more insight into our operations on the farm.

John Mesko: (02:46)

That’s great. And tell me a little bit about historically the kinds of information we’ve given back to processors and farmers.

Natalie Nesburg: (02:57)

Farmers can access their survey scores at any time, and so that’s their performance level metrics so they can track their survey scores, where they’re at, what sustainability practices they’re currently doing, what sustainability practices growers in their region are doing, and then what practices all the growers who participate in the survey are doing. So there are some comparisons there for them to see where they fall. And then they can also download those results and do more with them to benchmark and use that to communicate some of the sustainability efforts that they’re making, and so that’s how growers can access their surveys.

Natalie Nesburg: (03:36)

Growers also share those responses with processors and fresh marketers who are their aggregators. So fresh marketers and processors have access to all the responses that growers share with them, so they have the same ability to access those comparisons. And then processors and fresh marketers will also return to them their nutrient use efficiency and irrigation use efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions. Those are calculated and returned to them for their operation specifically because that’s the data that they provide to us from the fertilizer and irrigation use. And then, results on all these metrics are usually provided and reported to our board during board meetings so everyone can get an idea of where we are.

John Mesko: (04:24)

When we talk about this survey, there are probably people listening to this podcast that have never taken the survey, never seen the survey. They just hear the term the survey. And we’re asking questions like, do you use cover crops? Do you recycle your pesticide containers or your batteries, or your computers on your farm? I mean, what other types of questions are we asking, just general, on this survey?

Natalie Nesburg: (04:50)

General, so, the way the questions are set up, there are a lot of yes or no questions. Are you doing this practice? Yes. And then, if you are, you’ll get a point for that performance level that that question was assigned to let you know where you’re at. And so, there are a lot of different areas of sustainability that these questions cover. So we have like seed handling and planting, nutrient management, pesticides, management systems, working conditions, biodiversity, air quality, and the list goes on. So it’s sort of an all-encompassing survey that helps growers get an idea of where they’re at.

John Mesko: (05:27)

We’re really talking about best practices, right? I mean, in business of any kind is going to have a set of best practices that relate to sustainability or quality of production of their widgets, or whatever it is they’re making, and really the questions on the survey are designed to understand how well farmers are achieving some of these best practices.

Natalie Nesburg: (05:52)

Yes, exactly. And I think there are a lot of sentiments about what is sustainable? Am I sustainable? So that’s what the survey strives to help provide clarity to our growers on where they are in the sustainability spectrum and what practices they could be doing that are currently viewed as sustainable.

John Mesko: (06:10)

Right. And so, some of these questions will, as you said, a performance score. So some of these questions are under the basic category, everybody should be doing this, and you’re getting basic credit for answering one of those questions in that way. But then it goes up from there to steward, expert and then master.

Natalie Nesburg: (06:38)

Yeah. And so, it increases based on the amount of time, effort, and resources that it takes to implement those higher-level sustainability practices. We acknowledge that not all farms have the same access to resources based on where they are geographically, location-wise, and where their nearest extension center is, so everyone has different access to resources, but that shouldn’t prevent you from being able to track your sustainability and see where you fall among your peers.

John Mesko: (07:07)

For a farmer answering the survey, they get a feel for how closely their practices align with some best practices, standards that have been set up. Then we use, as you mentioned, the nutrient and irrigation information from processors to really get an understanding of how, in a quantified way, farmers are sustainable in using nitrogen, for example, or the energy for irrigation and so forth.

John Mesko: (07:34)

When we talk about how we can help farmers to make improvements to their practices, are they able to mention that they can see their own answers in the portal from year to year when they take the survey over time, how are we able to, or can we, compare that with other regions or other farmers that are raising potatoes?

Natalie Nesburg: (08:00)

They’re able to compare it to regional averages and overall averages on the portal. As an aggregator ourselves, working for PSA as an aggregator, we can’t compare those individually. We have a data policy in place that prevents us from comparing individual growers and processors and also grower regions in case that might provide some economical advantage and information. So we have a pretty strict data policy, but we’re working on revising that so we can get more in-depth and provide more data that’s useful to all of our members, not just people who can access the survey through the portal.

John Mesko: (08:37)

Right. That’s going to be an exciting thing as we go forward is finding ways to use our data more reliably and more in line with the kinds of things we’re trying to do as an industry.

John Mesko: (08:52)

A lot of times, people will ask me about the data. Where is it? How is it stored? Where is it located? And can you move it around? And so forth. I mean, it seems kind of elementary, but to someone that’s not familiar with it, maybe they’re interested in finding it out. So maybe you can talk a little bit about that.

Natalie Nesburg: (09:14)

Aside from the data that can be accessed through our survey portal, all those other metrics that I talked about, the nutrient use efficiency, irrigation, and greenhouse gas, all of that is collected using Excel templates. So that will be sent to processors and fresh marketers so we can collect the data. They can easily input it from their farm management systems. And so that’s why the Excel template started to be used, but then everything beyond that is done through Excel and also other analysis tools. We can put Excel templates into our programming software so that they can look at all these different inputs of data and make clear tables, making it a little easier.

Natalie Nesburg: (09:54)

Because in reality, we are dealing with very large spreadsheets that have a lot of data within them, and so when you ask what the state of the data is, it’s big, and it’s in spreadsheets, and it’s a lot to go through, but it’s exciting. We have a lot of data that we can do a lot with. We just need to look at our data policy and figure out the best ways to portray our metrics so that they can be of most use to our members and their data needs.

John Mesko: (10:26)

Excellent. Well, one of the questions that I get and that I’m interested in is, how are we doing as an industry, and how are potato growers doing overall? I think our data shows that we’re getting better over time, but how do we determine that, and how do we describe that currently to people?

Natalie Nesburg: (10:47)

I think that there is a really good story to tell about the dedication and commitment that our members have to sustainability, and we definitely see that in the data with consistent implementation of sustainability practices. Our data shows reduced greenhouse gas emissions, consistent nutrient use efficiency, irrigation use efficiency, and good worker safety. So we are seeing improvements.

Natalie Nesburg: (11:11)

But I think one thing we really need to focus on is analyzing the accuracy and the credibility of our data. We’re discussing bringing in globally recognized tools to bring more of that credibility to the program, and so that’s something that could be very exciting. So I think we’re in a good place to track and communicate what’s been done, but there’s also a lot more that could be done that’s very exciting.

John Mesko: (11:35)

Well, and I didn’t mention it when I introduced our discussion here this morning, but we are actually recording this at the PSA Summer Symposium here. It’s the middle of that event. We’re in Boise right now at the J.R. Simplot headquarters, and we’re getting ready to start our second day of the symposium. But you mentioned that it’s an exciting time, and it is because we’re discussing all the things you just mentioned about the data policy, and the data, and ways to improve our collection and analysis of that data, and we’re looking for ways to move our entire organization forward.

John Mesko: (12:09)

One of the things that we’ve been talking about as an organization is how we want to improve our ability to respond to the needs of our market. There’s an increase in the demand for sustainability data from a number of sources, including investors in publicly traded companies. Consumers want more information about it. The regulatory agencies that are involved in monitoring the financial disclosures of companies are interested in this as well. So I think that the work that we’re doing, and the work that you’re doing, is really important, and it’s a very, very important time to be having these kinds of conversations.

Natalie Nesburg: (12:54)

Yes, it’s very exciting.

John Mesko: (12:57)

Tell us a little bit about how you came to PSA and how you have become interested in working with this data. I know that when I first started working with PSA, you were working with the IPM Institute, and we had access to your talents on a part-time basis, but how did you get started in this work in general, and what are your interests in sustainability and data, and why is this exciting to you?

Natalie Nesburg: (13:26)

Stepping all the way back, I got my degree in environmental science, and I’ve always been interested in the interconnected nature of our ecosystem, but my passion for sustainable agriculture really stemmed from interning at a local nonprofit community farm. I worked for Partridge Creek Farm in Ishpeming, Michigan, doing soil research to track the nutrient levels and the soil at all of our community garden sites. But there, I also got to experience firsthand the impact that sustainability can have on a community.

Natalie Nesburg: (13:54)

We really focused on establishing self-sufficiency by teaching members of the community how to grow their own food, where their food comes from, and then how they can do all that sustainably and what that means for sustainability.

Natalie Nesburg: (14:06)

Beyond doing research there, I also grew and harvested produce, and we gave it away to the community for free as part of a really cool Farm Fresh Fridays program. I also got to make vermicompost and work with bees and check apiaries, so a lot of hands-on experiences that really instilled in me a passion for sustainable agriculture.

John Mesko: (14:26)

Well, I think we’ve got the right person for the job doing this work. I appreciate the passion that you bring and the interest, and the brain power that you bring. It’s great to work with somebody who has their own vision for how things can be improved and how things can be made more useful and more available. So, thank you for joining PSA and working with us on this. It’s great to have you overseeing all this complex detail.

Natalie Nesburg: (14:56)

I’m very happy to be here.

John Mesko: (14:58)

As we get ready for the second day of the PSA Summer Symposium, you’re probably listening to this long after we have finished the symposium, but I do want to tell you, those of you who have subscribed to the podcast, we have some exciting things coming in this form. We have been talking about the podcast and potential guests and the information that we want to share with you.

John Mesko: (15:27)

The symposium has been kind of a kickstart, an injection of energy into how we are going to communicate with you on this going forward. So stay tuned and keep checking out these episodes. We are going to have new guests and new information coming soon.

John Mesko: (15:45)

This is John Mesko. Thank you for joining us on the Resource Positive Agriculture Podcast, and stay positive.

John Mesko: (15:56)

Thanks for tuning into today’s episode. To hear more podcasts like this, please rate, review, and subscribe to Resource Positive Agriculture. We want to hear from you. Remember to visit potatosustainability.org for show notes from this episode, leave your feedback, and to learn more about how PSA is collaborating for potato sustainability. Thank you. And remember, stay positive.