The Mosaic Company, 2012 Sustainability Report
Land and Water
Reducing the
Environmental Footprint
of Farming
With the world’s population expected to reach
nine billion by 2050, the global food securit y
challenge looms large — and agriculture has
taken center stage. To sustainably meet the
world’s ever-increasing need for food, the global
agriculture industr y must simultaneously increase
crop yields and reduce negative environmental
impacts. The crop nutrition industr y is an
impor tant par t of this equation.
The ef ficient use of fer tilizers has the potential
to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas
emissions while contributing to higher yields
per acre. Propor tionally, the accrued benefit
of fer tilizer use substantially outweighs the
emissions associated with fer tilizer production.
Emissions associated with crop nutrient
production account for 0.8 to 3.2 percent of
global greenhouse gas emissions and total
greenhouse gas impacts associated with
agriculture and land use change (including
deforestation) are estimated at 17 to 32 percent
of global emissions.
While Mosaic is par t of the global drive to
achieve greater crop yields, providing bet ter
income for farmers while reducing the pressure
to clear for more cropland, we are also
commit ted to helping farmers around the world
use crop nutrients ef ficiently. We suppor t the
4
R Nutrient Stewardship Framework, which
recommends the use of the right source of plant
nutrients, at the right rate, at the right time and
in the right place to help deliver economic, social
and environmental benefits.
The Mosaic Company Foundation is also making
investments to help reduce the environmental
footprint of farming. In three key agricultural
watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River
Basin — at Minnesota’s Root River, Iowa’s Boone
River and Illinois’ Mackinaw River — we suppor t
The Nature Conser vancy’s science-based work
with farmers and par tners to improve water
qualit y. Over the next two years through the
Conser vancy’s Great River’s Par tnership (GRP),
the Conser vancy will enroll farms associated
with crop nutrient loss in federally funded
conser vation agriculture programs, bringing best
management practices (BMP) to scale in critical
watersheds and agricultural landscapes.
Advancing the Science
and Practice of Land
Reclamation
Phosphate, as a primar y nutrient, is essential to
helping the world grow the food it needs to
feed a growing global population. Phosphate
mining is frequently under the public microscope
because it significantly disturbs natural habitats.
At Mosaic, we consider mining a temporar y use
of the land. Reclamation activities star t before
we mine, and we’re leading the industr y in
developing ef fective methods of returning mined
lands to productive uses for both wildlife
and people.
Our Florida Phosphates operations mined
2,255
acres and reclaimed 6,474 acres in 2011.
Mosaic reclaims at least ever y acre of land we
mine, with an emphasis on the connectivit y of
Mosaic’s phosphates reclamation activities start before
we mine, and we’re leading the industry in developing
effective methods of returning mined lands to
productive uses for both wildlife and people.
Environment
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