Farmers today are swimming in data — from soil health stats to yield records — but many aren’t sure how to turn all that information into real value.

MFA Inc. announced Friday that it is partnering with Land O’Lakes to bolster its ability to help farmers make sense of the information and expand market opportunities.

The two cooperatives announced a strategic alliance to share expertise and resources in technology, data and sustainability solutions. At the core of this collaboration is the Truterra carbon program.

Brett Bruggeman, chief operating officer with Land O’Lakes Inc., emphasized the importance of this platform in maximizing data use and creating new markets.

“Truterra has been an opportunity for us to be the matchmaker between the producer farmer and the CPG [consumer packaged goods] companies or processor,” he said.

The platform aims to steward best conservation practices, whether in producing row crops or raising livestock.

While this is not the cooperative’s first venture into the carbon market, Jason Weirich, executive vice president of operations at MFA Inc., said it marks a significant step. Over the years, MFA piloted several programs, but he believes Truterra stands out because of its grower-centric approach.

“We’re going to focus on the grower versus maybe some of the CPGs that may be focusing on other aspects of the supply chain,” he said. “It’s really about helping the grower become more profitable and sustainable.”

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Expanding sustainability reach

More than 1,900 U.S. farmers have signed on with Truterra since it launched in 2016. The platform offers farmers an opportunity to participate in multiple conservations programs.

For Minnesota-based Land O’Lakes, partnering with MFA allows it to scale operations in a crucial agricultural geography. Bruggeman said the carbon program’s success relies on retail infrastructure, which MFA provides. The partnership also brings together the diversity of row crops and livestock within MFA’s footprint.

Bruggeman said that the CPG companies’ goals for Scope 3 emissions are driving expansion in this animal agriculture sector. “The livestock opportunity is probably as big as the row crop from a proactive, best-practice standpoint,” he added.

Truterra offers a diverse portfolio of credits, including insets and offsets, allowing farmers to find the right market to fit their specific operation and sustainability goals. Both men stressed the importance of being agile and responsive to market demands to provide flexibility and solutions to producers and processors alike.

Beyond carbon and into data

Currently, MFA has large amounts of data that it cannot fully use because of organizational limitations.

Weirich said the partnership allows the cooperative to use data to provide productive insights to growers, helping them make informed decisions about their operations.

“The goal is to explore how to better leverage various types of data — such as soil, yield and transactional data — to offer value-added services and expertise to growers,” he explained.

From Land O’Lakes’ perspective, the data provided by MFA will be used to improve productivity and return on investment for farmers.

“Whether it’s return on investment on a per-bushel, per-gallon of milk or per-pound of meat,” Bruggeman said, “or if it’s improving supply chain efficiency, creating new outcome-based markets like low carbon intensity, grain, etc., there’s just a wide portfolio of ways we can either create growth from a standpoint of a new market or improve an existing market with efficiency or productivity.”

At the farm level, agronomists and sales teams will help farmers interpret the data, offer suggestions on production practices and identify potential markets.

Weirich said the new alliance is about bringing value to producers by finding opportunities to generate revenue and improve farm operations.