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Farmers will play a key role in climate solutions

Some farmers have expressed concern about the impact of the Biden administration’s aggressive climate agenda on the agriculture industry.

But, USDA’s Robert Bonnie says many farmers are already implementing good agronomic practices that sequester carbon on their farms. “Whether it is soil health practices, improved nutrient use efficiency, improved forest management, there’s a lot of alignment between what we want to get done for climate and agriculture and forestry,” he says. 

US agriculture accounts for about 10 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions, which he says is relatively low compared to other countries because the industry is already extremely efficient.

Earlier this year President Biden issued the 30×30 Executive Order, which puts American on the path to protect 30 percent of its land and 30 percent of its ocean areas by 2030, and Bonnie says working lands will be absolutely critical to its success.  “Voluntary, collaborative, locally led efforts are going to an absolutely vital role,” he says.  “We’ve got to keep farmers farming, we’ve got to keep ranchers ranching, and we’ve got to keep forests as forests.  And to do that we’re going to rely on partnerships, incentives, and other approaches.”

Bonnie made his comment during the USDA’s (recent) virtual Ag Outlook Forum.