Congress is preparing to consider a historic $135 billion investment in agriculture to fight climate change and deliver resources to farmers and families in need of support. The package would be the largest investment in conservation since the Dust Bowl, and it would support a variety of climate-friendly programs that empower a new cadre of farmers to regenerate the land and prepare our agricultural system to weather the impacts of climate change. It would also direct significant funding to historically underrepresented farmers and to children facing food insecurity.

Transforming agriculture from climate liability to climate solution

Fighting climate change requires a forward-looking and equitable approach to agriculture. Ten percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, and these emissions have been growing. In particular, agriculture is the second largest domestic source of methane (one of the most potent greenhouse gases), and industrial animal agriculture is responsible for an outsized portion of that footprint. But agriculture also offers unique opportunities to advance climate solutions. Cultivating healthy soil with regenerative and organic practices — including cover cropping, crop rotation, composting, polycultures and farming without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers — can draw down carbon from the atmosphere while also increasing the capacity of farms to survive droughts, floods and other extreme weather.

Read the full article about investments needed for solutions in agriculture by Allison Johnson and Matthew Kaplan at GreenBiz.