As much as it is farmers who play a central role in ensuring that food is produced in a sustainable manner, consumers also have a role to play. It is not fair to farmers to say that farming has a negative environmental impact. Certain types of farming have very negative impacts, others not much impact and others can actually have a positive impact. By supporting farmers who implement practices that have a lower environmental impact, or even a positive impact, consumers are supporting sustainable agriculture.

Not only farmers have a role to play in sustainable food production.
Buy sustainable.

That is why Trace & Save believes that consumers should be able to find out whether the food they buy is being produced sustainably. There are many claims to sustainability, but few have the evidence to back it up. Trace & Save is all about measured agricultural sustainability. The graphs below empower consumers to see whether farmers are improving or not with regards to sustainable farming.

Power of Trace & Save

This process of collecting data, and using it to show both farmers and consumers whether sustainability is actually being addressed, is why we believe the Trace & Save system has such great power.

The SWAN graphs display the average sustainability performance on participating farms over the time that these scores have been measured. The current score of participating farms is calculated each week, and updated on the graphs so that consumers can trace the sustainability performance of farms over time. Participating farmers can click on the SWAN link above to open the detailed farm reports for their farm.

The baseline is the original score given to a farm the first time the SWAN score is measured. The SWAN score is the current score of the participating farms. The difference between the baseline and current scores shows whether there have been improvements or not on the farms since the baseline was measured.

NOTE:

    • The large changes in the baseline and score at certain times are due to a change in the way the indexes are calculated.
    • The drought conditions in the Eastern Cape during 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been very challenging for farmers, and have influenced the SWAN scores on some farms. This is not necessarily due to improper farm management, but is rather caused by the drought.


BLOGS RELATED TO CONSUMERS

What progress have farms participating with Trace & Save made over the past 10 years?

Looking back over ten years of collecting data from pasture-based dairy farmers, it is encouraging to see that there has been progress made with regards to improved sustainability. Two of the main goals of Trace & Save is to support farmers to farm in a more sustainable manner and to create evidence of progress where it is being made.
2023-09-06/by Craig Galloway

Carbon footprint reduction over time: Lessons from pasture-based dairy farms in South Africa

The reductions in emissions on the 20 pasture-based dairy farms over the past five years are an encouragement to any farm that would like to reduce their environmental impact. The most significant improvements have come from increased feed conversion efficiency, a higher proportion of pasture in the diet, and lower N fertiliser application rates.
2023-09-04/by Craig Galloway

Revisiting the movement: Regenerative agriculture

The value of regenerative farming is the desire of farmers to reduce their environmental impact and align their practices with the services that are inherently part of all ecosystems. But this is not a new concept at all.
2023-05-09/by Craig Galloway