In a recent talk outlining the dangers posed by global climate change, Secretary of Agriculture laid out a plan to combat climate change, presenting a framework for a more sustainable agricultural future.
For the past few years, farmers have been buffeted by severe and fluctuating weather. While warmer, milder winters have allowed farmers to plant crops earlier, drying, hotter summers have punished farmers across the farm belt.
While addressing the challenges farmers have faced, Vilsack pointed out the underlying strength and resilience in the American farm sector. “Our farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners are the most innovative on earth, and they’re up to the task of meeting environmental challenges that lay ahead,” Vilsack said. “We know what we’re seeing on the ground – more intense weather events, and a greater number of them. USDA will be there to support the efforts of our farmers and ranchers to adapt to these new challenges, just as we have been for decades.”
Among the proposed changes, Vilsack discussed creating new Regional Climate Hubs, which would make information available to struggling farmers, new cross-agency guidelines regarding conservation and cover crops, and the adoption of a US Department of Agriculture Climate Adaption Plan.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer