Farmers Join Forces for Sustainability and Responsible Climate Policy

This week, NCGA joined 21 farm groups to publicly launch Farmers for a Sustainable Future (FSF). The coalition’s mission is to share U.S. agriculture’s commitment to sustainability and the tremendous strides that have already been made to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. FSF will serve as a resource for lawmakers as they consider climate-related policies, providing its guiding principles as a foundation to further advance adoption of conservation programs. FSF’s principles call for policies that support science-based research, voluntary incentive-based conservation programs and investment in infrastructure

Corn farmers have long been leaders in working to improve the quality of soil, water, and air around our farms through NCGA programs, including the Soil Health Partnership (SHP).

More about the coalition, guiding principles and sustainability achievements can be found at sustainablefarming.us.

Also this week, USDA Secretary Perdue announced a new USDA departmental initiative called, “The Agriculture Innovation Agenda.”

“This agenda is a strategic, department-wide effort to better align USDA’s resources, programs, and research to provide farmers with the tools they need to be successful. We are also continually mindful of the need for America’s agriculture industry to be environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable to maintain our position as a leader in the global effort to meet demand. We are committed as ever to the environmental sustainability and continued success, of America’s farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers,” said Perdue.

USDA has set the goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.