50 Star US Inc.
According to the US Cotton Trust Protocol's 2023 annual report, 975 growers, or roughly a quarter (23%) of all US cotton acreage, were among the grower members, who had tripled in 2020. A benchmark for sustainable cotton production, the US Cotton Trust Protocol recorded continuous improvements in all six land use metrics: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon, conservation of soil, and water efficiency. As per the Trust Protocol's 2023 annual report, the organization has witnessed a 79% decrease in soil loss since the baseline data of 2015, and its yields have surpassed the national average by 12%.
In addition, 14% more producers reported improved water use efficiency, with 83% of them having a good soil carbon index. Thus, there was a 27% decrease in energy consumption and a more than sixth (21% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Key performance indicators on advancements in regenerative agriculture utilizing the Field to Market methodology are also included in the Trust Protocol's Annual Report.
Cover crops, low or no-tillage farming techniques, biodiversity promotion, rotational farming, precision agriculture approaches, integrated pest management, and the use of inputs customized to particular landscape conditions are some of the regenerative practices that have been described.
Furthermore, the US Cotton Trust Protocol clarified that the tripling of engaged growers has important ramifications for how data should be interpreted. This means that more participating farms add to a bigger data set, which affects the findings' statistical significance.
Additionally, it was mentioned that a larger and more diverse set of growers results in a higher representation of agricultural practices, geographies, and conditions, all of which enhance data interpretation and enable benchmarking.
Executive Director of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Daren Abney expressed his encouragement at the findings, saying, "I'm greatly encouraged by the continued progress, and not least by the exponential growth in enrolled planted cotton acres." Precise data gathering creates the conditions for merchants and brands to make the right choices, allowing them to point to the amount of water conserved or the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided. The data available today shows how Protocol producers' environmental performance gets better every year.
A voluntary, science-based sustainability initiative at the farm level, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is creating new benchmarks for value delivery to all parties involved in the supply chain, from farms to final products. It is the sole approach that promotes continual development in six essential sustainability metrics: land use, soil carbon, water management, soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy efficiency. It also offers quantitative, verifiable goals and measurements.
Additionally, it is the first sustainable cotton fiber initiative in the world to provide all participants with article-level supply chain transparency. A multi-stakeholder Board of Directors, including representatives from civil society, independent sustainability experts, and the cotton-growing business (growers, merchants, wholesalers, mills, and cottonseed handlers), is in charge of overseeing the Trust Protocol.
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