A performance metric is a measure of the outcome of a practice or set of practices. I have dedicated this space to performance metrics three times in the past (the May 2009, September 2011 and December 2012 issues of Wines & Vines), more than any other topic. There are several reasons for this. First, it is becoming much more common for buyers down the agri-food supply chain to ask growers to provide metrics data. Second, some regulatory agencies are also beginning to request this kind of data. Third, I believe performance metrics have a role to play in finding efficiencies and cost savings in farming. And finally, despite the increase in visibility of performance metrics, a large portion of the grower community is still reluctant to embrace their use.

 

CSWA’s online self assessment has metrics calculators for wine grape growers and winemakers.

The current drought in California presents an excellent illustration of why performance metrics are needed in agriculture. An oft-quoted statistic is that California agriculture accounts for 80% of the water used in the state. During the current drought, which is one of the most severe on record, many agriculture groups have been telling the media they are good stewards of water. During the previous serious drought, the state legislature passed a law requiring irrigation districts to report their water use to the state. Yet an article published in May by the Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that only 20% of the irrigation districts (48 out of 242) had complied with the law, even though reports from the districts were due 10 months before the article was published.

How can growers say they are good stewards of water if they don’t know how much of it they are using? It is one thing to use low-volume irrigation systems, irrigate only when it appears to be needed and to be sure irrigation systems are well maintained and adjusted properly. However, if farmers do not measure how much water they use in the field or vineyard, set a benchmark of this water use, compare future water use to this benchmark and, even better, measure the amount applied to the water demand by the crop, they do not know how good of a water steward they have been. Total water applied and water-use efficiency measures are both important performance metrics that are the true measure of water stewardship.

A growing trend
It is clear from staying abreast of supply chain sustainability initiatives that performance metrics are being emphasized more and more. Probably the most visible sustainability performance initiative is Field to Market, which is used for commodity crops like corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat and rice. It is a diverse alliance working to create improvements in productivity, environmental quality and human wellbeing—the three planks of sustainability. The group provides collaborative leadership that is engaged in dialogue across the agriculture industry, grounded in science and open to the full range of technology choices. The alliance has produced a free online performance application called the Fieldprint Calculator, which enables growers to enter data and calculate their farm’s performance metrics for land use, conservation, soil carbon, irrigation water use, water quality, energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Another metrics-based calculator that has gained significant attention during the past few years is the Cool Farm Tool. Initially developed by Unilever and the University of Aberdeen to help farmers understand the GHG emissions of their production areas, the Cool Farm Tool now is a free, online calculator. To run the tool growers enter information about the crop and growing site as well as data about inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and energy consumption from use of equipment, irrigation pumping and transportation of the crop. It allows a grower to try different production scenarios and see how these changes affect GHG emissions. It can also be used to identify GHG emission “hotspots” in the crop-production process.

The most visible metrics-based initiative for specialty crops is the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops. This multi-stakeholder initiative of growers, buyers and NGOs is dedicated to developing tools for measuring sustainable performance across the supply chain. To date they have published metrics for water use, water-use efficiency, nutrient use, energy consumption and soil organic matter.

Who requires metrics?
Several significant buyers also have developed sustainability initiatives that require contracted growers and food companies to provide metrics data for on-farm inputs such as nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides, water and energy consumption. Examples are Unilever’s Sustainable Agriculture Code, Sysco’s Sustainability/IPM Audit and Walmart’s Sustainability Index, which is based on key performance indicators developed by The Sustainability Consortium. Several months ago Whole Foods Market announced it would be launching a sustainability initiative that would require growers of produce and cut flowers to record metrics data for water use and fertilizer use, among other things.

Performance metrics have also begun to be included in certain regulatory compliance programs in California. In particular, the Regional Water Quality Control Boards for the Central Coast (Region 3) and the Central Valley (Region 5) are developing regulatory compliance programs that will require growers to record and submit data about amounts of water applied during irrigation, the amount of nutrients applied (particularly nitrogen), and demonstrate that their irrigation and fertilization programs take into account crop demand for water and nitrogen.

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance proactively developed a program to educate California wine grape growers and winemakers about metrics and their use in measuring and managing sustainability performance in vineyards and wineries. They have integrated a calculator in their online self-assessment workbook, which calculates metrics for energy and GHG intensity (see figure above), water-use efficiency and nitrogen applied to a vineyard based on data input by users.

Some important things have been learned from this program so far. One is that growers and winemakers are very concerned and wary about how buyers might use metrics data in the supply chain. Another is that growers often do not record the type of data required by metrics calculators, and to do so would require effort and cost. A third is there are currently very few case studies to show that using performance metrics adds value to vineyards and wineries.

Metrics for management
Revenue for a wine grape grower is based on a ton of grapes, and for a winery it is based on a bottle, gallon or case of wine. The costs for producing those products are derived from capital costs and the cost of inputs such as nutrients, water, energy, pest control products and labor. Metrics allow businesses to see what each input and capital cost contributes to the overall cost per unit production. If benchmarks are set for each one, then performance can be tracked over time.

Tracking efficiency metrics are very likely to affect management practices. An analogy I have often heard used is a car instrument panel that has a real-time miles-per-gallon gauge. A driver invariably alters their driving habits by watching this reading.

Wine grape growers and winemakers not already collecting data should start using these metrics to measure sustainability performance. The value of using these metrics will become self-evident over time. Remember: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Dr. Cliff Ohmart is vice president of professional services for SureHarvest and author of View from the Vineyard: A practical guide to sustainable wine grape growing. Previously he served as research/IPM director at the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. He has been writing about sustainable winegrowing issues for Wines & Vines since 1998.