LINCOLN — The Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) Board of Directors voted recently to join the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance. The group consists of organizations representing a cross-section of farmers, ranchers, forest owners, the food sector, state governments, and environmental advocates that are working together to develop and promote shared climate policy priorities.
“Farmers and ranchers are on the frontlines of climate impacts and we support how the alliance is addressing climate change. The alliance is united around three principles, support voluntary market and incentive-based policies, advance science-based outcomes, promote resilience, and help rural economies better adapt to changes in the climate,” said Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue. “The recommendations put forth by the alliance ensure farmers and ranchers will be respected and supported as society pushes for climate-smart practices.”
Momentum for climate action is growing in Congress, the administration, and the private sector. As always, a collective voice is stronger than any one alone. Advocating for the right policies, which include voluntary market and incentive-based solutions, will help to prevent a move toward the punishing policies discussed a decade ago.
“The reality is that agriculture can play a positive role in responding to the calls for further reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building greater resilience throughout the food value chains. At the same time, efforts undertaken by farmers and ranchers to meet GHG reduction goals should always make financial sense,” McHargue said.
Today’s farmers and ranchers have already done a tremendous amount to reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint. By reducing tilling, rotating crops, planting cover crops, and emphasizing crops that can capture carbon, they have reduced their carbon footprint.
“We are proud of the advancements farmers and ranchers have made on the sustainability front. The founding principles of the alliance line up perfectly with where NEFB believes the discussion about climate policy should center,” McHargue said.
Members of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance include American Farm Bureau, the Nature Conservancy, National Council of Farm Cooperatives, Environmental Defense Fund, and the National Farmers Union, among others.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 58,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.
— The Nebraska Farm Bureau
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