How Your Supplements Support Sustainable Farming
At Acutia, we believe we have a responsibility as people and a company to minimize our impact on the environment and help protect the planet for future generations.
We reduce the environmental impact of shipping and single-use materials by using a refill system and choosing packaging made from bio-based materials. But we want to go beyond minimizing our carbon footprint. That’s why our partnership with Nori is so important.
What other carbon removal marketplaces get wrong
Nori is a carbon removal marketplace that actually removes carbon from the atmosphere. Which sounds obvious. But many carbon offset organizations sell reductions and avoidances that don’t change the carbon levels in the atmosphere. For example, they might pay a construction company to not tear down an area of trees for apartments—but that same construction company will just go somewhere else and emit the same amount of carbon.
Nori rewards sustainable farming
Limiting the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is essential, but we also need to lower the amount of existing carbon. Nori accomplishes this through the U.S. Croplands Methodology, which directly rewards farmers for using regenerative practices that store carbon in the soil, such as no-till or minimum-till practices and cover crops. Did you know that soil can store over 9 billion more tonnes of carbon annually? (Paustian, et al., 2019).
“Every year, humans emit approximately 40 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas equivalents (CO2 being a primary one),” said Heidi Sloane, Nori’s Senior Marketing Manager. “We need all hands on deck to reverse this trend and as one of our early partners, Acutia has shown that they are leaders in climate accountability and stewardship.”
Stringent requirements and decades of data. Just how it should be.
Before farmers can participate in Nori’s program, they have to provide land management and crop data for 30 years prior, commit to independent audits every three years, and annually report carbon removal data for ten years afterward. A third party estimates the amount of carbon removed per project and a different third party verifies the amount.
Once Nori Carbon Removal Tonnes (NRTs) are purchased, they are retired on a public ledger on blockchain for transparency. One NRT represents one tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent stored for at least 10 years. Nori mediates throughout the process (and steps out when third-party verification is needed). They connect farmers with people or companies who want to buy NRTs—brands like ours.
Why we chose Nori
As scientists, we appreciate that Nori shares our commitment to accountability, transparency, accuracy, and an ongoing curiosity to explore new ways to improve the world around us. Nikki Putnam Badding, managing director and chief dietician at Acutia, was excited about creating a partnership that reflects the agricultural roots of the company, aligns with its commitment to caring for people and the planet, and offers a real-world solution to offsetting carbon emissions from shipping.
“As a company that prioritizes sustainability, we were seeking a partner in making a positive, tangible environmental impact,” said Nikki. “Nori creates a unique opportunity for us and our customers to directly support the farmers who keep our families fed while protecting the planet.”
Meet the family of fourth-generation dairy farmers
Miltrim Farms Inc. in Athens, Wisconsin, is a fourth-generation dairy farm that dates back to 1931. They started implementing regenerative practices around 10 years ago. Their partnership with Nori began in early 2022, and we have since purchased some of their NRTs. The family first became involved in regenerative practices to help alleviate Wisconsin’s water surface issues affected by soil and phosphorus runoff.
How Miltrim Farms helps ensure sustainability
Miltrim Farms aims to have a growing crop or living root system all year long, so the land isn’t barren. This keeps carbon in the soil and reduces runoff. They’ve also taken acres out of production to turn into pollinator plots that bloom throughout the year, despite the difficulty of establishing these areas. The first couple of years requires a high level of maintenance to manage invasive species that reduce plant diversity.
Miltrim also has perennial forages with grasses or clovers. These help feed their dairy cows a diverse diet with plenty of the phytonutrients found in plants. Miltrim will be testing the cows' milk for years to track their diet's impacts. They believe that the more forage a cow can eat, the better.
Supporting farmers who want to innovate
There are many great things going on at Miltrim Farms, but experimenting and implementing sustainable practices comes with financial risks in an industry that already has thin margins. David Trimner, whose last name puts the “trim” in Miltrim, works as the general manager and co-owner at his family’s farm. “Knowing that we’re going to have some compensation for our practices allows us to continue experimenting,” he said. “We have successes and failures. But it’s necessary to improve our practices and find out what’s most successful.” The NRTs that people and organizations buy from farms like Miltrim help them continue farming sustainably and profitably.
Thank you for choosing Acutia supplements—your purchases allow us to help Nori and farms like Miltrim.
Want more info?
- Visit Nori’s site to get involved.
- In the spirit of full transparency, view our Nori account page.
- Read about other initiatives on our Sustainability page.
