Agriculture and aviation are two of the biggest industries in Kansas, but it’s been rare for commodity farmers and commercial airlines to interact as partners. As sustainability moves from boardroom buzzword to real world applications, there’s a need for more conversation between the industries.

Kansas Farm Bureau recently facilitated some of that conversation between farmers in south-central Kansas and representatives from Delta Airlines centered largely around the recent push to produce more sustainable aviation fuel. Essentially, the grains and oilseeds farmers grow will be refined into jet fuel.

Sustainability has a wide variety of meanings depending on the context. For airlines, sustainability is a biofuel with a lower carbon footprint than traditional petroleum-derived propellant. For farmers, sustainability is keeping the land they farm productive so future generations can continue working it.

It’s logical two different industries would have different definitions for the same term. One is a little over 100 years old, while the other has been around for a few thousand years. It makes perfect sense for the upstart industry (relatively speaking) to learn from the much older one of what sustainability looks like.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to farming. Over visits to farms across just three counties in Kansas, airline officials were able to see firsthand just how different farms are. Many employed the same conservation-minded practices like no-till and cover crops that aim to boost soil health, but the practices were long-term investments in the land. A lower carbon footprint isn’t the goal, it’s merely a byproduct of good stewardship.

To their credit, Delta officials didn’t come to Kansas expecting to resolve all the issues surrounding sustainable aviation fuel, rather they showed up with an open mind and sought to better understand policy perspectives of growers in the region and experiences across the agricultural value chain.

They heard firsthand about opportunities and challenges to implementing conservation practices on farms. Farmers provided their experiences on topics like raising grain sorghum, using cover crops to increase soil health and for grazing, wheat planting, drought and minimum- or no-till practices.

Orville Wright covered 120 feet over the course of 12 seconds in the first powered flight of what’s now known as an airplane. An observer during that first flight could probably figure out a 747 is one of the results of that flight, but couldn’t comprehend the testing, innovation and change necessary to get from one to the other.

The same is true in agriculture. The plow, which may be the most important tool in settling Kansas, is not long for this world. Breaking generations of tradition isn’t easy and doesn’t always happen quickly, but I have no doubt Kansas farmers will be leaders in the coming evolution.

The conversation between agriculture and aviation is just getting started. It’s commendable the two industries are talking, trying to figure out how to best help each other thrive in the future. This was just the beginning of the conversation, and no one is quite sure where it will lead. One thing everyone knows: the sky’s the limit.

“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.