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Anna Hartley and Dr. Wesley M. Porter, University of Georgia
Field to Market provides an interesting opportunity to gather producer data while also providing the producer a voice. Field to Market uses the Fieldprint Calculator to analyze and calculate a sustainability score for an individual field based on the following metrics: biodiversity, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, irrigation water use, land use, soil carbon, soil conservation, and water quality. The overall focus of this project is divided into three main goals: creation of a long term baseline of sustainability data for cotton, design and facilitation of educational events and creation of long-term benchmarks. The main focus of this paper is on the process of achieving the first two goals of the project. Additionally, findings will be provided from the study focusing on the growing regions across the state of Georgia. With the agricultural industry looking for continuous improvement in levels of sustainability, explanation of project research in relation to the Theory of Diffusion of Innovation will be explained as feedback is provided back to growers about the adoption of Precision Agriculture techniques, sustainable agricultural practices, and conservation techniques. Additionally, other aspects of adult education and industrial change will be provided as we work to not only develop new sustainable practices but higher profits for producers. By using feedback from growers, an internal look can be taken into how the extension components of the project can use current producer perceptions, to inform the next steps of the project. These next steps could include possible partnerships that can be created to assist producers with private cost-sharing opportunities or current programs available for producers to enroll in for the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices.