I have heard the phrase used time and time again, ?Farmers are the original conservationists.? Some of you will whole-heartedly agree, and some of you are going to scoff and roll your eyes. No matter if you believe it or not, farmers try to produce the best they can, as economically as they can, and as sustainably as they can.
Before anybody starts an argument over the word ?sustainability?, hear me out. Farmers need to preserve the soil and leave the air and water as clean as possible. Now, there is debate on whether that happens or not. However, more and more farmers are adopting different practices then what they have been accustomed to. It may not be happening at a rate that some would like to see it happening, but nonetheless it is happening. If you need any evidence of this, just follow along with Anna Hastert?s ?Row Crop Run? series for the last two years.
It is that second word, ?economically?, that has the most pull in this discussion. For many outside of agriculture, it is hard to understand that switching practices takes time and money. Money, being the hardest part of the equation. If you do not believe me, just look at the commodity markets. Converting your operation does not just happen overnight. It is not just a matter of ?doing this? or ?stopping that.? You still must be profitable. Profitability has taken on a whole other meeting in times of trade uncertainty, global pandemic, and low commodity prices.
That was the discussion at the Senate Ag Committee Meeting on Wednesday.
Several farm groups came out in support of a bipartisan carbon credit bill called the Growing Climate Solution Act. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall says that in a time when farmers are looking for any economical advantage they can find, having incentives for conservation-minded programs would be a great benefit to producers.
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Robert Larew says NFU and the North Dakota Farmers Union ran a program on the Chicago Climate Exchange which paid producers more than $7.4 million.
Larew also commented that there must be protections from bad actors and faulty markets. He also suggested carbon tax credits and a USDA carbon bank. He also suggested credits for ethanol fuel blends.
Jason Weller of Truterra, which is the sustainability arm of Land O?Lakes, says that practices, systems, and equipment will all need to be considered.
Wellner says that Land O?Lakes and Truterra are on the cusp of a revolution in precision conservation. Of course, it relies on data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, USDA practice standards, and more. However, the key will be expanding rural broadband to producers, and that is a whole other topic.
