Trace and Save

Trace & Save provides measures of indicators of sustainability, allowing farmers to track changes on their farm pertaining to sustainability, while being assisted and advised in how to become more sustainable in their practices. The measures of sustainable agriculture are also used to show consumers, with integrity, whether sustainable agricultural practices are being implemented. Agricultural sustainability will only be trustworthy if it is measured and all facets of the agro-ecosystem are considered properly. For example water and soil are just as important as the atmosphere, when it comes to the environmental impact of agricultural practices. Trace & Save uses various measures of on farm indicators: 1) the SWAN system (Soil, Water, Atmosphere and Nutrients); 2) people welfare; 3) animal welfare; 4) biodiversity conservation, to attain a trustworthy, holistic measure of agricultural sustainability. The SWAN system, along with the measuring of people and animal welfare, and biodiversity management, provides a comprehensive representation of the relative sustainability of a farm's current practices and physical conditions. Consumers are able to use the Trace & Save platform to partake in sustainable agriculture by tracing what farmers are doing, thereby keeping farmers accountable to practices that save the environment. The indicators used in the SWAN system: