CEMSA/ADAPT

GOALS

Assist farmers, aided by a trained consultant, in establishing an environmental management framework that will help them profitably address resource issues and concerns on their operation, integrating economic, agronomic and environmental performance; and,

Document and demonstrate measureable environmental quality improvements within an adaptive management system.

What are CEMSA and ADAPT?

CEMSA (Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture) is a process designed to help farmers incorporate an Environmental Management System (EMS) within their farming operation. CEMSA was developed on a planning framework that uses the NRCS's nine-step planning process and ISO 14001. 

The key to CEMSA is measuring, monitoring, and validating processes to capture feedback on the performance of specific practices which is accomplished using ADAPT (Agricultural Data Analysis and Planning Tool). CEMSA applies a management system framework to farming that can be evaluated and adjusted based upon real performance. The process is called applied evaluation, and it's a process that is working on hundreds of Iowa farms today. 

Through CEMSA, the Iowa Soybean Association assists farmers by helping them create a custom-fit EMS (Environmental Management System) that:  

• increases environmental and conservation awareness
• provides on-farm assessments that prioritize issues specific to the farm
• documents baseline data for issues and implements an management evaluation process
• prevents pollution by addressing resource concerns (Examples: soil, nutrient, pest, habitat, water and energy)
• assists with government conservation programs via planning and documentation
• focuses on the bottom line