Advanced BioFuels USA

by Jerry Hagstrom and Chris Clayton (DTN The Progressive Farmer)  Delegates to the National Farmers Union annual convention here on Tuesday maintained the group’s commitment to addressing climate change, but they rejected a proposal that it become involved in the Green New Deal that some Democrats in Congress have proposed.

The NFU, the nation’s second-largest general farm organization and the most Democratic-leaning one, has long been involved in the climate change debate and has shown more willingness to address the issue than most other farm groups on the grounds that carbon sequestration and other farm practices offer farmers opportunities as well as challenges.

NFU’s rejection of the Green New Deal reflects the backlash it has created in rural America.

This year, state delegations brought policy proposals on the Green New Deal, regenerative agriculture, and climate change to the convention, and the NFU’s policy committee combined them into a document that did not endorse the Green New Deal as written but did use the term.

The proposal said: “The Green New Deal is a bold proposal to transform our society, but as it stands, the resolution appeals to an urban voter base and does not recognize the essential contribution of rural America.”

The proposal continued: “We need to have a seat at the table as the Green New Deal framework is being developed. National Farmers Union policy supports no less than 30 individual positions that align with the core values of the Green New Deal.”

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One Wisconsin delegate said that NFU should get together with “these energetic young legislators” who are “driving the discussions” and influence them on policies that affect farmers.

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Some farm groups have responded by denouncing the Green New Deal. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association issued a statement last week citing that “eliminating meat consumption would only have a very minor impact on the environment.”

“In fact, removing all livestock and poultry from the U.S. food system would only reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by less than one-half of 1%,” said Mark Deppe, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

While debate rages over the Democrats’ climate proposal, some farm groups continue working to highlight the low-carbon benefits of cropping practices. Just this week, the American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Farmers Union and the Natural Resources Defense Council all submitted comments supporting a $25 million USDA pilot project to test and measure soil carbon sequestration. Famers involved in the project will be paid to implement practices that sequester carbon and improve soil health.

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The American Farm Bureau Federation also released a Market Intel report Tuesday on agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture equaled about 9% of U.S. emissions by economic sector in 2017, but that data doesn’t reflect the emission reductions by carbon sequestered in grasslands and forestry. Agricultural emissions have risen, but those emission numbers don’t reflect the growth in U.S. agricultural productivity.

“U.S. Farmers and ranchers are producing more crops, livestock, fruits and vegetables, fuel and fiber than ever before while using less water, protecting against erosion and conserving more soil, avoiding nutrient loss, increasing wildlife habitat and improving biodiversity while using less cropland,” AFBF’s report stated.

Frank Mitloehner, an animal-science professor and air-quality Extension specialist at the University of California-Davis, reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s team about agriculture and the Green New Deal after seeing social media posts late last month about “farting cows” that drew a great deal of attention.

“I appreciate her interest in climate-change mitigation, but the 800-pound gorilla is the use of fossil fuels, and I told her that even the notion of cow flatulence makes this whole thing sound silly, and that’s not what we need this discussion to be,” Mitloehner told DTN in an interview.

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The discussion needs to shift, Mitloehner said, because farmers and livestock producers can bring far more to the table when it comes to carbon mitigation and growing renewable energy.

“Currently, we have all kinds of people from urban centers who are leading the discussions. They tell farmers what sustainability is, and tell farmers how to farm who have never set foot on a farm,” Mitloehner said. “They have never set foot on a farm, never had soil from the farm on their hands. Yet they are driving the discussion, and that is driving me insane.”

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Mitloehner said he told Ocasio-Cortez’s New Consensus staff, if they were serious about making changes, they can’t turn their backs on farmers. At the same time, Mitloehner added that farmers themselves need to be more at the forefront of the conversation about climate change.

“I want to turn frustration into renewed energy into encouraging the farm community to own the topic. This is not a cuss word,” Mitloehner said. “This I what they do. Sustainability is what they do day in and day out. So don’t let it get hijacked by people who use it to throw arrows at you.”   READ MORE

Candidates must engage rural communities (The Gazette)