SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US — Noting the importance of farmers in protecting the environment and document compliance throughout the value chain, the US Grains Council (USGC) has formally launched its Corn Sustainability Assurance Protocol (CSAP) and Sustainable Corn Exports (SCE) online platform.

The initiatives were unveiled on Feb. 15 during the closing day of the three-day 20th International Marketing Conference and 63rd Annual Membership Meeting in Savannah, Georgia, US.

“Farmers are the stewards of our land, so no one understands the need for preserving the health of our environment better than they do,” said Ryan LeGrand, president and chief executive officer, USGC. “The CSAP is a recognition of farmers’ extraordinary socioeconomic importance, and a way to further improve the appeal of their products with end users around the world.”

The CSAP is a farmer-led initiative to show the strong institutional sustainability foundations underpinning US agriculture, as well as the traditional and innovative techniques that US corn producers are adopting, the USGC said. It is a way for US corn producers to provide insights into their sustainable farming practices and strengthen global sales by highlighting their alignment with increasingly climate-focused markets.

The SCE online platform complements the CSAP by making it operational. Through the SCE, US corn buyers can issue shipment-specific “Records of Sustainability” to allow overseas corn importers to easily determine and document the compliance of US corn shipments with local sustainability requirements, the USGC said.

Since 1980, US corn yields have increased by 88%, according to the US Department of Agriculture Statistics Service, while also using 55% less water and energy, according to Field to Market. The USGC said it strives to recognize the adaptive spirit of US corn farmers and the Earth-friendly growing procedures they have been using for decades through the CSAP, at no additional cost or burden to producers.

“The CSAP will establish a baseline of sustainability for US corn that will continuously improve as farmers integrate new technologies and tools,” said Carlos Suárez, manager of sustainability, policy and innovation for the USGC. “Corn farmers work with remarkable efficiency and care for the land, and the CSAP is how we can show their efforts to the rest of the world.”

The use of the SCE web platform is provided at no cost to US corn farmers, exporters and international importers. The goal of the program is to facilitate the continued global trade of US corn by helping international supply chain stakeholders better understand the sustainability of US production practices.