Bayer launches ForGround, a unique sustainable agriculture platform focused on transforming how farmers and companies collaborate
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ForGround offers tools, resources, and discounts to advance the adoption of climate smart practices that can transform value chains
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Potential benefits from transitioning to regenerative agriculture may include improved soil health1, reduced water use2, fewer inputs3, increased weather resiliency4 and less soil erosion5
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The platform has been built on Bayer’s years of experience and knowledge in this area to leverage digital infrastructure that will allow companies to create, manage and track progress, taking advantage of Bayer's Climate FieldView™ Platform footprint and data capabilities
St. Louis, August 15, 2022 – Today, Bayer announced the launch of ForGround, a farmer-first digital platform that will transform the way farms of all sizes can more easily make the transition to sustainable agricultural practices. ForGround offers growers tools, resources, discounts, as well as and the potential to earn revenue through the Bayer Carbon Program7 for the adoption of regenerative practices and to connect with businesses looking to advance their sustainability and carbon goals.
Based on the successful foundation of the existing Bayer Carbon Program, ForGround will expand and evolve to go beyond carbon offsets to explore other ways that farmers can make a positive impact in their operations, through the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices and technologies, and the potential to connect with companies to help them meet their sustainability goals from foot printing to value chain interventions all the way to carbon offsets.
“As a global leader in agriculture, Bayer is uniquely positioned to help drive lasting change by working directly with farmers and businesses through leveraging our global scale to reduce our impact on the planet and support farms for generations to come”, said Leo Bastos, Head of Global Commercial Ecosystems, Bayer CropScience. “We know that better harvests and a better future start with healthy soils and investing in farmers' success – and believe that the ForGround platform will help them make the transition to more sustainable practices – and ensure agriculture is part of the climate solution.”
Through ForGround, Bayer will assist enrolled farmers to implement and manage practices that can help provide benefits to their land such as improved soil health1, increased water availability2, fewer inputs3, increased weather resiliency4, and less soil erosion5, as well as the opportunity to generate incremental revenue by connecting them with programs like Bayer Carbon. The available benefits at launch are:
- Best-in-class practice transition support with agronomic support, evidence-based field studies & trials, curated content & events, like-minded community and trusted network of leading experts
- Connection to potential new revenue streams for adopting these new practices (i.e., Bayer Carbon Program)
- Reduced transition cost barriers, including incentives and rewards such as a free subscription to Climate FieldView™ Plus7 (Climate FieldView™ is Bayer’s industry-leading digital farming app, allowing even deeper understanding of farmers’ fields)
This platform enables farmers to participate in this increasingly transparent supply chain where consumers are interested in knowing how their food is produced.
ForGround participating companies can take advantage of a suite of digital applications powered by Climate FieldView™ to define and offer incentive programs that allow them to achieve their sustainability goals. “Our difference lies in understanding different needs, realities and adoption rates from farmers and different ways companies can create a positive impact to the environment”, says Bastos.
“ForGround is a key commercial piece of how we are working to achieve our goals of reducing our customers' in-field carbon emissions in major agricultural markets by 30 percent and becoming carbon neutral in our own operations by 20306. Supporting regenerative agriculture goes beyond our own sustainability commitments and together with farmers and other companies we can transform value for collective impact”, concludes Bastos.
ForGround digital platform is now live and available for farmers and companies in the United States and will be globally expanded in the near future. Visit bayerforground.com to get more information on how to enroll.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Contact:
Bayer - Brian Leake 314.370.3285
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
Citations
1 Finney, D.M., Buyer J.S., & Kaye J.P. (2017). Living cover crops have immediate impacts on soil microbial community structure and function. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 72(4), 361-373. doi:10.24.478/jswc.72.4.361.
2 Burke, J. A., Lewis, K. L., Ritchie, G. L., DeLaune, P. B., Keeling, J. W., Acosta-Martinez, V., Moore, J. M., McLendon, T. (2021). Net positive soil water content following cover crops with no tillage in irrigated semi-arid cotton production. Soil and Tillage Research, 208. Doi:10.1016/j.still.2020.104869.
3 Zotarelli, L., Avila, L. Scjolberg, J.M.S., & Alves, B.J.R. (2009). Benefits of vetch and rye cover crops to sweet corn under no-tillage. Agronomy Journal, 101(2), 252-260.
4 Basche, A. D., Kaspar, T. C., Archontoulis, S. V., Jaynes, D. B., Sauer, T. J., Parkin, T. B., & Miguez, F. E. (2016). Agricultural Water Management, 172, 40-50. Doi:10.1016/jagwat.2016.04.006.
5 Sanghyun Lee, Maria L. Chu, Jorge A. Guzman, Alejandra Botero-Acosta, (2021). A comprehensive modelling framework to evaluate soil erosion by water and tillage, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 279, 111631, ISSN 0301-4797, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111631.
6 https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/climate-change
7 This Bayer Carbon Program described in this material is subject to the current version of the Bayer Carbon-Smart Practices Master Agreement. The information is to aid in the understanding of the Bayer Carbon Program and does not change or modify the Bayer Carbon-Smart Practices Master Agreement in any way.
ForGround members who agree to associate their FieldView Plus account with ForGround will receive a FieldView Plus subscription at no charge for one year. Current participation in the Bayer Carbon Program can participate in this offer by becoming ForGround members and complying with offer requirements. The FieldView Plus opportunity set forth in this paragraph is subject to Bayer continuing to offer promotion. Promotion may be discontinued by Bayer at any time in Bayer’s sole discretion. Promotion participants must not be in breach of any agreements between Bayer and its affiliates, including Climate LLC, in order to qualify.
FieldView Drive or FieldView Drive Starter Kits are not included in this offer. No commissions will be paid to dealers for subscribers participating in this offer. This offer may not be completed with any other offer for FieldView Plus.
Services and products offered by Climate LLC are subject to the customer agreeing to our Terms of Service. Our services provide estimates or recommendations based on models. These do not guarantee results. Agronomists, commodities brokers and other service professionals should be consulted before making financial, risk management and farming decisions. More information at Climate.com/legal/disclaimer. FieldViewTM is a trademark of Climate LLC. Bayer and Bayer Cross are registered trademarks of Bayer Group.