Climate Solutions in Ag Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. More money is coming for agriculture to address greenhouse gas emissions, through the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that.
But, Pam Lewison, director of the Washington Policy Center’s Initiative on Agriculture, says they need to understand that agriculture is already doing that…
LEWISON … “We sequestered the carbon in the soil and this is how we do that. In Eastern Washington, you see it everywhere, low and no-till, is everywhere. People have been doing that for more than a generation. They deserve to get credit for that and that is something that they need to be shouting from the rooftops and saying, we already do this!”
Communications, Lewison says need to improve, on both sides …
LEWISON … “So, I think that we have to be careful about how we craft that conversation and that certainly means that there needs to be open-minded discussion from everyone at the table.”
For the most part, Lewison says farmers are on this, because they have to be …
LEWISON … “Generally speaking, I can’t think of people who are more conscious about how they treat their soil than farmers. Because it behooves them to look at, you know, what is the most beneficial thing for my land. And if no-till is the most beneficial thing, there’s 100% of a reason for that.”
Lewison says, a better answer for climate change and ag would be fewer taxes and more options for the way ag does things.
She says urban politicians create rules that make farming harder or that ignore key needs of the industry.
