Mar 17, 2018
ep. 12: Bill Buckner, President & CEO, Noble Research
Institute
On episode 12 of Sourcing Matters we welcome Bill Buckner,
President and CEO of Noble Research institute. As the largest
independent private agricultural organization in the US, Noble has
recently focused on bridging the worlds of conventional and Organic
production through a commitment to land management and soil health
that will provide solutions to the vast challenges facing
Agriculture, and humanity as a whole.
Founded in 1945 in response to the dust bowl, the core competencies
of land stewardship and proper resource conservation to prevent
future disaster is part of Noble's linage. Earlier this year
they've launched a market exchange for natural resources currently
not even given a commodity value. It's the hope of Buckner and his
team of 400 at the Noble Research Institute that by adding a new
cost basis to soil health, carbon and water - we'll be able to
decommoditized food and promote the differentiated values from
elevated production models - while furthering commitment to
regenerative natural resources. Collectively, that's a
competitive advantage for all domestic producers. Raising
this minimum market threshold seems an essential next step in
on-ramping more farmers to evolve production models often inherited
with succession of a farm. As more consumers appreciate those
values of the food sourced with any and all aspirational standards
it'll continue to become increasingly more mainstream in the
marketplace.
What I learned in our discussion was that Bill Buckner is a
practitioner of change. Gracefully handling language that is
often alienating and ostracizing for different sides of the fence,
you must listen to our chat as he explains how it's the farmers
who'll elevate the conversation and transcend much of the
infighting that has put us in such polarized position. I
think there are some lessons to be learned in our discussion by our
brethren in DC. For food and managing our resources - it's
the farmers and the consumers that will meet in the middle to
balance a system that must become more harmonious, and just.