Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative is encouraging the USDA to focus on local farmer-led conservation projects as the agency considers creating a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Program.
The cooperative’s views came this week in response to a USDA request for public input on the potential program. One element the agency is exploring would encourage the adoption of practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon and would promote markets for commodities produced using such practices. President Biden referenced the strategy on Tuesday during the U.N. Climate Change Conference.
Dairy farmer and Edge President Brody Stapel said the cooperative sees great potential in financial incentives for dairy farmers who are committed to incorporating nontraditional farming practices aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. He pointed specifically to local farmers working together voluntarily to leverage innovative ideas and financial resources.
“We have found that by partnering locally we can learn from and encourage each other and determine what is most effective for our individual farms,” Stapel says. “The result is the expanded use of science-based practices that improve soil health, reduce energy use, protect water quality and provide other environmental benefits.”
Stapel says Edge supports a model developed in part by a sister organization, Farmers for Sustainable Food, that focuses on farm-level sustainability projects. That group and a set of partners developed a comprehensive framework for replicable projects and are piloting it with a local farmer group in Wisconsin. The nationally recognized project incorporates economically viable conservation.
“Farmers can be leaders in developing solutions to environmental challenges,” he says. “We are proving that every day.”
See more about the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Program: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/30/2021-21368/climate-smart-agriculture-and-forestry-partnership-program
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