As part of a growing movement to reduce on-farm losses and increase profitability through data-driven, supply chain-wide collaboration, stakeholders gathered for a field day at GoodFarms in Moss Landing, Calif. Focused on Opportunities for Reducing Loss and Improving Profit using the Global Farm Loss Tool, this farm tour brought together growers, retailers and supply chain partners to explore innovative approaches for identifying and addressing farm-level loss using whole-chain insights.

The core mission of GoodFarms of “improving lives from farm to table” is achieved through certified sustainable practices, including organic and conventional strawberries, drip irrigation, crop rotation, composting, water recycling, integrated pest management (IPM) and a social framework around improving the livelihoods of their workforce, which has resulted in incredibly high retention of local workers.

The Global Farm Loss Tool, developed as part of this broader initiative, offers a framework to track loss, pinpoint systemic hotspots and uncover scalable solutions that can redirect or prevent waste, ultimately improving bottom-line results for all involved.

Participants saw firsthand how improved data collection, stakeholder alignment and targeted interventions can reduce food loss in the early stages of the supply chain. Juan Montanez, Manager at GoodFarms, shared how waste reduction depends on farm practices as well as specifications, and processes throughout the chain influence outcomes at the field level.

Reducing food loss at the farm level is a triple win. It puts more money in the pockets of farms, creates surplus channels at a competitive price for buyers and reduces the environmental footprint of food production. Western Growers, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and partner farms hope to facilitate more tours and discussions together between grower members and buyers to support these types of efforts and initiatives.