The Agriculture Department is preparing to announce on Thursday a goal to cut farming's environmental footprint in half by 2050 while still drastically increasing the sector's productivity, three sources briefed on the plan told POLITICO.
The targets are part of a new department-wide sustainability initiative, which Secretary Sonny Perdue will outline during a speech at USDA's annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Va.
The initiative, which also aims to increase farm productivity by 40 percent over the next 30 years, is not expected to specifically mention climate change. Instead, it will focus on research, innovation and improving USDA's ability to collect data on farmers' conservation practices, these sources said.
How USDA plans to define agriculture's "environmental footprint" is unclear. It could involve some combination of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving soil and water quality, or increasing the use of renewable energy.
The new initiative comes as President Donald Trump has significantly rolled back environmental regulations to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the energy and transportation sectors. USDA has buried research by its own scientists warning about the effects of climate change on farmers and ranchers. In the early days of the administration, the department quashed the release of a sweeping plan on how to respond to more extreme weather disasters.
Earlier this month, POLITICO first reported that USDA was quietly hosting meetings with farm groups and food retailers to gather feedback on the new sustainability initiative.
In a statement on Wednesday previewing the announcement, Perdue only said that the plan will touch on sustainability, productivity and innovation. A fact sheet reviewed by POLITICO said USDA will align its "resources, programs and research to provide farmers with the tools they need" to meet "the food, fiber, fuel, feed and climate demands of the future."
The secretary is likely to face scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and environmental advocates about whether USDA plans to request more money for the initiative or make any regulatory changes to its conservation programs. He could also face questions about how the department intends to track progress toward its goals.
The department's top scientist, Scott Hutchins, outlined a five-year research plan earlier this month that largely avoided politically charged words like climate change. That so-called blueprint focused on five themes, including sustainably increasing agricultural production, food security and “value-added innovations” that create job and economic opportunities in rural America.
Climate change has been a contentious topic in the agriculture, as largely conservative farmers and ranchers grappled with the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by human activities. The industry accounts for about 9 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to EPA.
But the resistance to such discussions is starting to shift, particularly after some of the most disastrous weather years on record. Flooding in the Midwest prevented farmers from planting nearly 20 million acres in 2019, more than double the previous record, while a series of hurricanes and wildfires caused billions in damage to crops and livestock from California to Florida.
Last year, 21 lobbying groups, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, formed a new coalition to influence lawmakers as they draft climate legislation.
During a meeting with reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, members of the Farmers for a Sustainable Future said they want to be a part of the conversation, both to highlight what agriculture is already doing to reduce its environmental impact and advocate for voluntary incentives to help farmers adopt better practices and be more resilient to extreme weather. The new coalition does not intend to establish industrywide sustainability goals, however.
The meeting made it clear that there is still some leeriness to pin climate change on human activities, with Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and lobbyists for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and National Pork Producers Council suggesting that the cause is irrelevant. Farmers, if given environmental targets, can meet them voluntarily as long as there are investments from both the public and private sectors, they said.
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February 20, 2020 at 06:31AM
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USDA to unveil plan to cut farms' environmental impact in half by 2050 - POLITICO
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