GROWMARK and its FS-affiliated companies have named the Enduring Farm winners for the 2023 calendar year and published their annual Endure report detailing the GROWMARK System’s environmental, social, and governance engagement for the prior calendar year as part of the System’s sustainability efforts.
Enduring Farms recognizes farms that go above and beyond in their commitment to preserve and improve their land and natural resources for future generations by adopting best management practices that optimize nutrient utilization, leading to long-term soil and water quality.
To be considered for the award, FS companies nominate farms using certain sustainable best management practices on their farms. Farms implementing additional agronomic and environmental management practices can also earn the Enduring Farms Plus designation.
Enduring Farms Plus winners Rod and Cindy Iutzi, whose family has been farming for five generations, are corn and soybean farmers in Hancock County, Illinois.
Rod recalls stories from his grandfather about farmers first learning to use fertilizer and says he’s proud that his farm has always been able to utilize new practices. “Today, I use cover cropping with crops like Cereal Rye on our corn fields,” he said. I’m proud that for three generations, our family farm has always been able to advance as technology changes.”
Sixty farms earned the Enduring Farms designation, while 83 farms earned the Enduring Farms Plus designation in 2023.
“We’re proud of the nutrient management practices these farm families are utilizing to help feed and fuel the world,” said GROWMARK CEO Mark Orr. “Their hard work ensures farmland continues to be fruitful for future generations of America’s farmers.”
The Endure report, published alongside the Enduring Farm designations, details the GROWMARK System’s efforts to remain sustainable while also serving our farmer customers.
These efforts include supporting and implementing smart stewardship practices throughout the System, embarking on decarbonization initiatives, and engaging with our communities to support youth education and young farmers, offer scholarships, and provide support for other industry advocates.
“In the Endure report, you’ll read real stories of how the GROWMARK System is serving our customers, like our scholarship program or our work with biodiesel,” Orr said. “These and other stories, like the FS employee named the Illinois Certified Crop Advisor of the year, share our collective effort to be the best agricultural cooperative system in North America.”