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Ag can play a critical role in environmental and sustainability issues

USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky says farmers can play a major role in combatting climate change while continuing to feed the world.

“We believe very strongly that the answer to that challenge of how agriculture can do that is through sustainable intensification of increasing our production while also reducing our impact on the environment,” he says.

He says that’s going to be possible through innovation and technology.

“We need to have the right science-based policies that allow these new technologies to come to market,” he says. “USDA plays a role there in making sure we have the right regulatory systems in place so that these technologies can come to market and farmers can utilize them.”

Censky says the USDA remains committed to tracking and reporting on progress being made.

“If we set goals and then show how we are doing and how we are reducing our footprint- that’s a great story to tell to consumers but you need the metrics in order to do that,” he says. “We think it’s important for us to measure, hold ourselves accountable, and then tell our story.”

Censky spoke to reporters at the 2019 Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Indianapolis.