Today, the Senate Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources held a hearing entitled: “Conservation in the Farm Bill: Making Conservation Work for Farmers and Ranchers.” Witnesses spoke about the importance of federal conservation programs that support soil health and on-farm infrastructure, and that provide streamlined access opportunities to help build future generations of farmers prepared to meet the challenges of climate change…. Read More →
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Release: NRCS Announces Improvements to CSP and EQIP
Yesterday, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) made a series of changes to its premier conservation programs to better support farmers’ ability to face climate change. … Read More →
The “Sweet Spot” for Farms to Enhance On-farm Biodiversity
In this guest blog post Patrick Baur and Kenzo Esquivel discuss their newly published study that shows how some diversified farms have found a “sweet spot” to expand their crop portfolio and adopt ecologically based practices like hedgerows or cover crops. … Read More →
Farmers Need Our Help Tackling Climate Change
On-farm conservation is a vital part of ensuring a thriving rural landscape. Organic farmer, Paul Mugge a member of Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), has been experimenting with ecological approaches to agriculture for many years…. Read More →
A Call for Climate-Focused Agriculture Policy
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Tara Ritter, Senior Program Associate with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and edited by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). IATP is a member organization of NSAC, and Tara serves as Co-Chair of NSAC’s Climate Change Subcommittee. The current Administration has gone to great lengths […]
RELEASE: Moving American Agriculture to “Net Zero”
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has been helping farmers adopt climate-smart practices for decades, and today released a new report of policy and practice recommendations based on the latest climate science: Agriculture and Climate Change: Policy Imperatives and Opportunities to Help Producers Meet the Challenge. … Read More →
Exploring Agriculture’s Role in Addressing Climate Change
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis held a hearing last Wednesday, October 30, 2019 to discuss the role of agriculture in identifying and implementing solutions to the climate crisis. This is the first time that the Select Committee has focused on the potential for America’s farmers and ranchers to be a positive force […]
Climate Action Heats up in Congress – What Does it Mean for Agriculture?
Now in their second month on the job, the 116th Congress is increasingly focusing their attention on the very real effects of climate change – as well as the need to develop and advance policy solutions to address pressing climate-related threats. Farmers, ranchers, and rural communities have endured increasingly frequent and devastating natural disasters, and […]
Au Revoir, Paris: a Bad Move for America, a Bad Deal for Farmers
Farmers are no strangers to the effects of climate change. Extreme weather events – catastrophic floods, severe droughts, and shifting pest pressures – have been impacting farmers across the country for years, and many have responded by increasing their conservation activities and moving to more sustainable production methods. Even with many farmers already implementing climate […]
USDA Publishes New Resource to Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
Farming is an inherently risky business. On top of daily weather events, market fluctuations, land access, taxes, and expenses, the stress of climate change exacerbates these problems and serves to make agriculture even less predictable. Farmers and ranchers all over the United States are already experiencing the effects of climate change and severe weather events, […]
How Can Agriculture Address the Growing Economic and Environmental Pressures of Climate Change?
The devastating consequences of climate change threaten our natural resources, food security, and the productivity and economic viability of farming operations. Agriculture has an important role to play in helping us mitigate and adapt to climate change, and as we approach a major administrative transition and early discussions around the 2018 Farm Bill, the connection between agriculture […]
Soil Health Emerges as Global Priority to Address Climate Change
Agricultural production accounts for nearly ten percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and farmers and ranchers are among those who will most immediately and dramatically suffer the consequences of climate change. Agriculture has a substantial role to play in global mitigation efforts, and we at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) work closely with the U.S. […]
2011 Budget Drill Down: EPA on Water and Air
This post is the third in a series of commentaries by NSAC staff on the President’s 2011 budget, released on February 1st. To read the overview by Executive Director Aimee Witteman click here. Look out in the following days for more budget analysis on research programs, conservation, rural programs and more. The proposed EPA budget […]