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Voluntary, incentive-based tools remain key for ag and climate policy

A leader with the USDA says climate policy will offer farmers and landowners opportunities to address climate change and improve their bottom line.

Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Robert Bonnie says it must continue to be a voluntary and incentive-based approach.

“There’s some potential real opportunity for agriculture and forestry around climate change if we do it right way,” he says. “If we use incentives, there are opportunities to make this work well for agriculture and help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners improve their bottom line and take advantage of the interest in the marketplace for climate-smart agirulcutre and forestry.”

He says the USDA will continue to gather agricultural stakeholder input on climate issues.

“We want to do this in an open and transparent way,” he says. “We know climate change isn’t always an easy subject…but we want to do this in a way that invites people in and builds something that works for agriculture and forestry and gets the job done from the standpoint of climate change.” 

Bonnie made these comments during the virtual National Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting. He says local efforts, like those done through conservation districts, will be critical in addressing climate change moving forward.

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