Let’s Talk Sustainability.
For over 110 years, our family has been committed to investing in the technologies and solutions that help our customers cultivate prosperity. Along the way, we’ve built relationships and our business in alignment with our core family and corporate values: integrity, family, innovation, growth and quality. These values are at the heart of our sustainability initiatives.
We’re in this together. Many of our employees are growers too- and many of us grew up on farms. Our children live and play on the fields where crops are raised, where our products are applied, and farm equipment rolls by. Like our customers, we deeply understand the way agriculture shapes our lives and our land. We don’t just do the work- we live it- and this connection brings an intrinsic sense of responsibility to every decision we make.
We’re in this for the long haul. Our six-generation history is a testament to our long-term thinking and investment in the future. Many of our growers have worked their land for generations- building a legacy of integrity and grit that makes the agricultural industry so special. We are humbled by the role we play in helping our customers build a better future for their families and communities. We are deeply committed to using responsible, sustainable practices and products which honor and preserve that legacy.
We invite you to learn more about the commitments we are making to protect and preserve our resources.
Sustainable Grain
What you put in the ground today, shapes your world tomorrow. Growers are the stewards of tremendous natural resources- rich soil, fresh water and clean air. The responsibility to care for these resources, while feeding the world on increasingly less farmland, is no small undertaking- and practices in place today will affect our communities for generations to come. We take our role in preserving and protecting these resources seriously. We work with growers to develop and manage programs that mitigate risk in their operations, and we echo these initiatives in our own operations and strive for continued improvement.
We champion sustainable grain in the supply chain. Working closely with industry partners, we enroll growers into sustainability certification programs that ensure a market for their sustainably grown grain. The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) are two such systems which provide sustainable grains to the vital fuel and food ingredients markets.
Grown Climate Smart™
The DeLong Co.’s Grown Climate Smart program stemmed from a $40M grant received through the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. The aim of this initiative is to incentivize growers who utilize climate-smart growing practices, such as: reduced or no-till, cover crops, windbreaks, and nutrient management plans. Recognized as an early leader by the USDA, our program distributed $6M in incentives to local growers in its inaugural year. The program enrolled 171 growers and 230,000 acres in 2023; in 2024, 210+ growers and 410,000+ acres awill be enrolling in year 2 of the program.
In addition, the Grown Climate Smart brand forges partnerships in various industries, to broaden markets for sustainable growers and cater to consumers who are seeking products that use climate-smart grains and ingredients.
Our Climate Smart Mindset paves the way for the future of agriculture.
Scaling Regenerative Agriculture
We are dedicated to introducing new opportunities to our growers’ sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices. To achieve this, we partner with ag-tech leaders, which enables us to scale access to both public and private programs and incentives that promote the adoption of regenerative agriculture farming practices. This approach not only enhances near-term profitability for our farmers by aligning, accessing, and optimizing stackable incentives but also paves the way for improved productivity and long-term profitability.
Solar Power
Our solar initiatives were developed with renewable energy experts, collaborations which led to the installation of solar arrays at 18 of our facilities in Wisconsin and Illinois over the past four years. Additionally, we have nine batteries at our facilities, the most recent was just energized in early summer 2024.
Land stewardship is a key solar selling point. We have several rooftop arrays, which don’t reduce the amount of available ground. When a ground-mount array reaches the end of its useful life, the land can be returned to its former use. Land is a limited resource that we aim to preserve for generations to come.
Our solar investments have already made a significant environmental effect. Our solar arrays decrease the burden on the electrical grid shared with our other utility customers. We achieve an annual CO2 avoidance of 3,293 metric tons in Illinois and 637 metric tons in Wisconsin, for a combined CO2 avoidance of 3,930 metric tons across our locations. That’s an equivalent of taking 935 cars off the road annually- or the equivalent of 776 homes’ electricity useage for one year!
This is a difference we are proud to put our name behind.
Precision Ag and Nutrient Management
Our precision agriculture and nutrient management programs provide growers with a sustainability roadmap- to take advantage of technology that protects the environment and helps your bottom line. Customized programs which offer grid mapping and application, means more efficient use of chemicals and fertilizers- this translates to lower input costs and reduced application of chemicals.
Exactly what you need, where you need it- and less of what you don’t.
