Advancing Soil Health & Water Stewardship


In collaboration with our partners, MBOLD is working to make Minnesota a global leader in soil health and water stewardship by driving market development, shared learning, and risk management strategies that enable the scaling of soil and water stewardship practices and new farm revenue opportunities in Midwest agriculture.  

What MBOLD is doing

Crop insurance for multi-species crop rotations
‍Crop insurance is a vital tool for farmers to manage risk on the farm. It is also a critical unlock for farmers interested in alternative or additional crops that reduce greenhouse gases and provide new revenue streams. With that in mind, MBOLD is evaluating pathways for insuring multi-species crop rotations that include winter cover crops, starting with winter camelina. In close collaboration with members Compeer Financial, Cargill and the U of M Forever Green program, MBOLD is leading the exploration of public and private crop insurance products that can help farmers manage risk when growing winter hardy camelina in conjunction with traditional cropping systems.
Lessons Being Learning from Growing Camelina
‍Developing new crops is a long-term effort, with plenty of challenges along the way. Winter camelina is no different. That makes learning from early piloting and commercialization efforts critical. Through a new jointly produced report, “Reflections on the 2023-2024 Piloting of Winter Camelina: Lessons and Implications for Further Scaling”, MBOLD and U of M Forever Green share critical reflections on field-scale production including agronomic considerations, weather challenges, the need for continued breeding efforts, and potential pathways for further scaling and commercial uptake.You’ll find the executive summary here and the full report here.
Million Acre Camelina Study
‍A broad group of partners convened by the MBOLD Coalition and U of M Forever Green is launching a new effort to build a roadmap for scaling up winter camelina production to one million acres across our region. The roadmap will evaluate key scaling unlocks and recommended action strategies addressing on-farm economics, research needs, and supply chain and market development, among other issues.
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The Minnesota Jurisdictional Initiative (MNJI)
The MNJI coalition is working to increase collaboration across the agricultural landscape to improve soil health, water quality, farm profitability, climate resilience and rural vitality in Minnesota. MNJI aims to build a strong collaboration of stakeholders across the state—including farmers, agricultural companies, conservation organizations, government entities, and more—to collectively develop strategies to advance regenerative agriculture practices and meet Minnesota’s ambitious water and climate goals. This initiative is led by The Nature Conservancy with MBOLD mobilizing business engagement in this effort.
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See more of MBOLD in action

We are pioneering development of a circular economy for flexible packaging and films in the Upper Midwest.

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