Julie DiNatale, Commercial and Strategic Partnerships Leader for Truterra (sustainability division of Land O’Lakes): Farmer-Driven, Sustainably-Focused

Do you ever really think about where the products you consume come from? For example, what does it actually take to source, make, and package the tub of butter you pulled from your fridge this morning? Have you thought about the farm, the farmers, the soil, or the agricultural practices that went into that single tub of butter? Probably not. Enter WDCast guest, Julie DiNatale. Julie is the Commercial and Strategic Partnerships Leader for Truterra, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives. Truterra collaborates with forward-thinking farmers, value chain companies, conservation organizations, and ag retailers to help better deliver the future of on-farm sustainability. In this episode, Julie and Lee Peterson, EVP Thought Leadership at WD Partners, dive into obstacles farmers are facing, what Truterra is doing to support on-farm sustainability, and what it’s like to work with the USDA.

2:33 – Land O’ Lakes is More Than Just Butter
3:53 – 3 Obstacles for Farmers
6:50 – Process, People, Education
10:42 – What Are Cover Crops?
13:00 – Revolutionizing Practices
16:20 – Being Part of a Cooperative
19:59 – The Sustainability Movement
23:26 – Producing Crops Becomes Natural
25:22 – Working With the USDA
31:11– Julie’s Hobbies

Listen to the Podcast