As the Savory Hub in New Zealand, it has been exciting to have been on the fringes of experiencing the amazing global growth in the Land to Market program.
The Savory Institute has recently announced the spin-off of its Land to Market program, the world’s first outcomes-based verified sourcing solution for regenerative agriculture, into a Public Benefit Corporation.
This promising move was driven by strong global demand for Land to Market’s services connecting brands to regenerative farming methods to address the desertification of land, loss of diversity and species and the climate crisis.
This is a testament to the Savoury Institute’s amazing vision and efforts of the early designers Chris Kerston and Victoria Kindred Keziah and the ongoing drive of Chris as Chief Commercial Officer and David Rizzo as COO.
What is Land to Market
The Land to Market program is an initiative of the Savory Institute to link conscious consumers with produce from land verified as regenerating by Ecological Outcome Verification.
A leader in the regenerative agriculture movement, Land to Market is the world’s first outcomes-based verified regenerative sourcing solution. The program’s Land to Market Verified Seal has attracted some of the world’s leading consumer packaged goods companies, apparel brands and retailers.
Land to Market uses a science-based approach working directly with raw material producers to enhance transparency and traceability mechanisms across the entire value chain.
For the first time in history, we can let consumers know a product’s impact on the environment, with empirical data to back it up, and then highlight those products that have a net-positive impact on the land.
The Land to Market mark on products tells consumers that the product they’re purchasing comes from livestock, whether meat, dairy, wool, or leather, from farms where the stock are improving the health of the land as a result of how they’re being managed.
This will empower individuals to vote with their food dollars and reward those producers for their positive ecological impact.
Land to Market provides opportunities for farmers
Land to Market provides a great opportunity for New Zealand producers and processors as we depend on exports of our primary produce. We have for years talked about the need to move from a commodity-based industry to one based on higher-value consumer-facing products and bring the opportunity of higher returns to New Zealand farmers.
Land to market links the growing number of conscious consumers globally to those NZ farmers shifting to regenerative farming. The brands now as partners in the Land to Market programme have all committed to moving towards sourcing produce only from land verified as regenerating.
They look to Ecological Outcome verification as the preferred means of showing that land is regenerating under management.
The Savory Institute
The Savory Institute was founded in 2009 to help farmers around the world adopt, commit, and build on holistic, sustainable practices.
The Savory Institute is on a mission to regenerate the world’s grasslands and their inhabitants’ livelihoods through Holistic Management.
The Savory Institute has led the regenerative agriculture movement by equipping farmers, ranchers, and pastoral communities to regenerate land within culturally relevant and ecologically appropriate contexts.
The institute has a global network of hubs, including Ata Regenerative, the New Zealand Savory Hub, which promote and grow Land to Market in their regions.
These hubs collect ecological data and look at a whole spectrum of land health, including soil organic matter, carbon and water infiltration rates, soil biodiversity, plants, and wildlife. They provide training and support to farmers wishing to understand Holistic Management better and wanting to improve the ecological health of their land.
How Ata Regenerative can help
In New Zealand, poor land management causes serious erosion, loss of topsoil, drought, floods, degrading animal health, loss of biodiversity and economic harm.
Every region, farm, and climate has their own unique biodiversity, and EOV allows farmers to “hear” their land, understanding what needs to be done and the best way to get there.
This is where we can help you.
Ata Regenerative has been at the forefront of regenerative agriculture practice in New Zealand for almost two decades, and in 2017 we were appointed as the Savory Hub for New Zealand. Ata are the only certified Ecological Outcome Verification provider in the country.
We have been working to grow the number of farms undertaking EOV in New Zealand, and we work with the Land to Market team to bring these exciting opportunities to New Zealand farmers.
If you would like to know more about Land to Market or how you could join us in the new farming revolution, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We can assist with your transition to farming practices that focus on the regeneration of soils, increased productivity and biological diversity, and economic and social well-being.
We’re here to help you create a more resilient and healthy future for farms and families.