Posted June 26, 2014
A year
after the President’s Climate Action Plan, the National Sustainable Agriculture
Coalition (NSAC) announced the availability of
“Climate
Change and Agriculture Recommendations for Farm Bill Conservation Program
Implementation” document, according to an article on Agri-Pulse available here.
KTIC also published the article here.
The
document states principles and recommendations for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS) to consider as it
implements conservation programs under the 2014 Farm Bill.
“Farmers and ranchers have unique climate change solutions to offer,” said Jeff Schahczenski of the National Center for Appropriate Technology, based in Montana. “Changes in agricultural practices can help farmers and ranchers not only adapt to the consequences of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also mitigate them.”
The NSAC document is based on a set of principles for
addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation through NRCS conservation
programs.
“NRCS programs help farmers prevent the degradation of
critical natural resources, such as soil, water, air quality, and wildlife,”
said Mark Schonbeck, Virginia Association for Biological Farming. “Surely,
in this day and age, our climate rates as a most critical natural resource, one
that merits NRCS assistance to those who produce our food and whose capacity to
do so depends on a benign and stable future climate.”
NRCS is writing program rules that address the changes to
conservation programs directed by the 2014 Farm Bill. The rules are expected to
release this summer, according to the agency.
For more information on farm bills, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
