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State ag officials pleased with Growing Climate Solutions Act

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture is pleased the Growing Climate Solutions Act has been reintroduced.

Zachary Gihorski, associate director of public policy, says NASDA is proud to support the bipartisan legislation.   

“First, agriculture continues to be bipartisan subject matter and we’re seeing strong bipartisan leadership here in one of these really important issues of climate,” he says. “Second, it’s really exciting to see. We knew climate was going to be a priority in Washington D.C. this year in this Congress from Ag Secretary Vilsack’s comments and House and Senate leadership comments and they have wasted no time.”

He tells Brownfield the bill recognizes and invests in producers’ contribution to sustainability.

“The bill is starting to provide some technical assistance and some metrics to the climate conversation and make sure we have producers at the table to advise on this topic,” he says.

Gihorski says there are other climate bills being introduced and although the Growing Climate Solutions Act is the only climate bill NASDA is supporting at this point, the organization is pleased to see a focus on state and regional agriculture.

 “As you see the language of a lot of these bills, there is a heavy emphasis on state and regional agriculture and also for some of the work currently being done in agriculture,” he says. “It’s a great thing to see because our members have been working on these issues for a long time and are dealing with it currently so the emphasis on state and regional support is really exciting to see.”

NASDA represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. The organization is a founding member of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance and advocates for incentive and science-based climate solutions for the ag industry.

Audio: Zackary Gihorski