|
Agriculture contributes about 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions according to the Environmental Protection Agency,
mostly from fertilizer application and livestock. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) made climate a priority under
the Biden administration and has spent more than $3 billion on
grants for projects implementing and quantifying the benefits of
climate-friendly farming practices.
The effort underway in Washington to write the next farm bill,
which is passed every five years and funds commodity, nutrition,
and farm spending programs, could test the Biden
administration's effort to reach net zero agriculture emissions
by 2050. Some Senate Democrats want to expand conservation and
climate funding in the bill, but Republicans on the House
Agriculture Committee have criticized USDA's climate spending
and want to trim the bill's half a billion dollar price tag.
At Tuesday's rally, the mostly small-scale farmers in attendance
spoke about the need to prioritize funding for climate-friendly
farming practices to ensure soil health and water conservation
as they increasingly feel the effects of a warming climate.
Sedrick Rowe, a first-generation organic peanut farmer in
Albany, Georgia, told Reuters that he and nearby farmers have
shifted their planting schedules earlier as the spring and
summer months have gotten warmer.
"Every farmer, from organic to conventional, is experiencing
this," he said.
Speakers also called for the farm bill to incorporate
protections for farm workers, who face significantly higher risk
of heat-related illness and death than workers in other sectors.
"We need a farm bill that puts the wellbeing and livelihood of
our communities, of our farm workers, as a priority," said
Marielena Vega, a farm worker organizer with the Idaho
Organization of Resource Councils, an environmental group.
The rally ended with a march to Capitol Hill.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Josie Kao)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
