The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Projections suggest Earth will reach nine billion people by 2050, a milestone that presents some unprecedented challenges. Food, clean water, energy and other vital resources will be in high demand and - without proper action now - low supply. In every way, we must work smarter, using research and technology to meet our needs and sustain our resources. One place we are working to create positive, sustainable change for both people and nature is the Mississippi River Basin.

In 2009, the Monsanto Company made a generous contribution to The Nature Conservancy’s Campaign for a Sustainable Planet to advance the conservation of the Mississippi River and several of its tributaries. With the support of Monsanto, the Conservancy has conducted a three-year conservation pilot to improve water quality in four watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. This work is being carried out by the Conservancy’s Great Rivers Partnership and Mississippi River Program. Through these initiatives, the Conservancy is working with local partners and agricultural producers in the Root River in Minnesota, the Pecatonica River in Wisconsin, the Boone River in Iowa and the Mackinaw River in Illinois to implement precision conservation in agricultural landscapes that addresses nutrient and sediment runoff and quantifies the effectiveness of this approach. The Conservancy is also seeking to understand which conservation techniques work best in larger sub-watersheds and how to best use and share these techniques with agricultural producers to help guide their farm stewardship decisions and ultimately improve water quality in the Mississippi River.

For a full report on Monsanto and the Conservancy’s efforts thus far, read the corporate case study about our results.