Habitat Restoration
One of every three bites of food we eat is possible because of the work of natural pollinators like ants, bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and birds. We leave unused farmland field corners as protected pollinator habitats.
Ditches on farmland connect with rivers, lakes and streams to create bountiful trout habitat with optimal flow and consistent water temperatures and depth.
Farming and agronomy teams are reestablishing wetlands and evaluating bioremediation to improve ground and surface water quality by reducing nitrates by more than 50%.
Partner farms are converting farmland to wetlands to manage watershed and slow runoff, capture nutrients and store carbon. One grower partner maintains 500 of 3,500 farmland acres as natural wetlands.
Partner farms maintain 25 miles of windbreaks and nearly 2,000 acres of prairie and wooded areas to prevent wind erosion. These spaces double as wildlife habitats.
Growing partner, Tasteful Selections®, reduced water waste by transitioning 3,900 acres from a 50% efficient flood irrigation system to a 90% efficient linear irrigation – using 30% less overall water.
Water Conservation
RPE farm partner Wysocki Produce Farm converted 100% of its irrigation systems to low pressure, generating electrical savings of nearly 50% while decreasing evaporative loss by 30%.
RPE and its partner farms are leaders in clean energy development.
Russell Wysocki, CEO, RPE, LLC.
We provided 1,600 acres of central Wisconsin land to create a 150 megawatt (MW) solar farm with Alliant Energy, a public utility providing regulated electric and natural gas service to 1.4 million Midwest customers. Two more 150 MW solar farm projects are in the works.
RPE is the #1 marketer of fresh potatoes in the U.S. growing 1.2 billion pounds annually of fresh market Idaho and non-Idaho russets, commodity yellow and red potatoes, and specialty baby potatoes.
RPE in the fresh potato category is a supply volume and sustainability leader. Every potato grown, packed, stored and sold by RPE and its partner farms is produced with 100% renewable electricity.
Regenerative Agriculture
A continuous digester at our partner-farm dairy operation captures and converts methane gas into energy. Electricity
generated from this process is part of an electrical grid that generates enough wattage to power upwards of 900 homes.
We reduced CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent per net hundredweight) by 46% in 2019 compared to 2015.
Our partner farm is assessing the potential for powering heavy trucks with compressed methane gas.
Our Farming Full Circle approach integrates cover cropping, diverse crop rotations and precise use of inputs that facilitate improved water management, more efficient utilization of resources and increased quality and yield.
Packaging Solutions
Consistent with consumer and customer demand, we continue to research, test and offer more eco-friendly packaging alternatives including paper.
RPE is reducing food waste by using light blocker technologies to prevent greening of potatoes in retail and storage situations.
RPE product development is deep into the next level of recycled materials – compostable packaging and components constructed with an environmentally friendly manufacturing process using 100% virgin “non-wet strength” fiber, water-based inks and Paper Lock® sealing technology.
Sustainable Transport
A partner farm established a 75% target and is in the early stages of replacing three-fourths of its heavy-duty field and transport trucks from Diesel to Natural Gas.
Our cost-benefit analysis of purchasing electrical farm pickups (e.g. Ford® F-150 Lightning) included environmental and societal as well as financial benefit. We recently ordered our first Ford Lightning pickup.
Tasteful Selections is transitioning to mostly propane-powered forklifts – reducing emissions by 76%; adding compressed natural gas engines to fleet vehicles – lowering fuel emissions; transitioning to self-propelled harvesters – requiring eight fewer tractors per day.
Clean Energy Commitment
Green-e® is a trusted global leader in clean energy and carbon offset certification. All production facilities and partner farms are using 100% renewable sources for our electricity. This process involves purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates which supports renewable electricity production.
Intelligent Microgrid at Tasteful Selections® Incorporating solar energy generation and battery storage, the 5.0 megawatt microgrid provides a pathway to net zero carbon while delivering energy resilience through “islanding” capability for continued operations during power outages within the broader utility grid.
Green-e® Energy requires the highest level of environmental quality of any national standard in the United States for renewable energy.
All production facilities and partner farms are using 100% renewable energy sources for our electricity. We are the first and only Green-e® certified produce supplier to do so.
RPE and all of its proprietary and customer private label brands participate in How2Recycle, an educational initiative to teach consumers how best to recycle different packaging materials.
RPEproduce.com | 800.678.2789
