Our Farmers Produce More Than Food And Fiber
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Our farmers produce food and fiber – and can also produce cleaner air and cleaner water. But today, more and more farmers are struggling in the face of a deepening climate crisis. Increasing droughts, record heat waves, punishing storms, and more are already damaging crops and reducing yields. And unless we act quickly to stop rising temperatures, our very food supply could be in danger.
The good news is that many farmers are ready to do their part to help fight climate change.
HOW DOES AGRICULTURE CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE?
Modern agriculture is a major contributor to the emissions driving global warming, with fertilizers and animals and their waste producing an estimated 10% of US emissions in 2022. Plus, a new report predicts that agriculture could account for as much as 32% of US emissions by 2050.
HOW CAN FARMERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Using climate-smart agriculture and simple conservation practices can help farmers significantly reduce emissions – protecting their farms and ways of life for the long term.
Common conservation practices – such as rotating crops, planting trees and cover crops, and installing buffers – in the Corn Belt alone could reduce emissions equivalent to taking around 1 million gas-powered cars off the road. Practices like planting cover crops can also make farms more resilient to extreme weather and reduce the economic damage from storms.
THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT SUPPORTS FARMERS AND CLIMATE-SMART FARMING
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers very popular programs to support farmers’ and ranchers’ efforts to improve soil health, water quality, and resource conservation on private land. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of interested farmers have been turned away from these programs due to lack of adequate funding.
In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act included nearly $20 billion for USDA to grow these programs and invest in climate-smart agricultural practices that would reduce emissions, spur economic growth in rural areas, and increase rural resilience to climate disasters.
But now, some in Congress want to remove the climate “guardrails” included in the IRA that ensure that climate-smart funding is available when farmers seek assistance for the practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers have always been there for us; we should be there for them when they seek USDA funding to address the climate crisis and make their farms “climate-ready.”