Land Core Newsletter - April 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
With Spring in full swing, we are wishing our farmer and rancher friends across the country the very best during one of the busiest times of year.
It has been an equally action-packed month in Congress, with multiple opportunities emerging to advance soil health and increase resilience in agriculture.
The Land Core Risk Model is also blossoming, with a new member of our working group just added, and new partnerships in development!
Read on for federal policy highlights, our comments to USDA on risk mitigation as an essential approach to incentivizing soil health, and more.
We also invite you to make a donation to Land Core. As a small nonprofit, your support will allow us to keep showing up and advancing the policies and programs that will make soil health possible across the US, and we would love to count you in as part of our coalition.
Sincerely,
The Land Core Team
Policy Highlights: Earth Day Brings Major Soil Health Legislation
There was a flurry of legislation introduced and reintroduced around Earth Day last week. Read our recap of “need to know” bills, head to our federal bill tracker for more details, and subscribe to the tracker alerts list.
We are thrilled to see some of Land Core’s key messages incorporated into a number of bills, with language supported by both parties and in both chambers!
This includes:
The need for consistent outcomes verification protocols (in the Growing Climate Solutions Act and America’s Clean Future Fund Act);
Discounts on crop insurance premiums for producers who use risk-reducing, soil health farming practices (in the Agriculture Resilience Act);
Creating a new, permanent program through EQIP at NRCS with $100M in funding for producers who adopt soil health practices, building on the success of the Soil Health Demonstration Trials (in the Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act); and
New incentives programs that provide payments and technical assistance to producers who are transitioning their farms to soil health cropping systems (as in the NO EMITS Act).
Land Core Submits Comments to USDA: Agriculture’s Role in Tackling Climate Change
We are pleased to share the comments we are submitting to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in response to their request for comments on President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. The Executive Order lays out a series of actions for Federal Agencies to take regarding climate change mitigation and resilience, including directing the Secretary of Agriculture to collect stakeholder input on a climate-smart agriculture and forestry strategy.
We highlight the need for infrastructure to support the widespread adoption of soil health practices, and the opportunities inherent in risk mitigation (and how they can help solve some of the problems of carbon-based schemes).
Welcome New Board Member, Carrie Dorr!
Land Core is delighted to announce the addition of Carrie Dorr to our Board of Directors. Our Board provides leadership and direct support for Land Core’s mission, advancing soil health policies and programs that create value for farmers, businesses and communities.
Carrie is a seasoned entrepreneur, founder and former CEO of Pure Barre. She brings 30 years of experience as a teacher, founder, CEO, Chief of Innovation, Board Member, lawyer, speaker and advisor to the mission of impacting the wellbeing of people and our planet. We welcome Carrie’s strong commitment to health and wellness, and are eager to work with her to advance the movement to tie soil health and human health together. Meet Carrie →
Welcome New Risk Model Working Group Member, Yvonne Socolar!
Yvonne Socolar is PhD candidate at UC Berkeley in the Agroecology department. Her research focuses on how soil management practices can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and lead to more resilient agricultural systems. She recently finished a project that quantified crop rotational complexity in millions of fields across the US Midwest and used spatial statistics to identify high soil quality, high rainfall, and proximity to biofuel plants as key predictors of rotational simplification.
We’re delighted and honored to welcome Yvonne to Land Core’s Risk Model Working Group, as we continue to expand our thinking on how to make this tool widely applicable and responsive to the complex nature of agriculture across the country.
What We’re Reading
Bonnie tapped to lead USDA farm programs
Biden nominates USDA climate adviser to lead farm production and conservation programs, including FSA, RMA, NRCS
April 16, 2021 | By: Spencer Chase, Agri-Pulse
President Biden wants 30% of US land to be protected by 2030; USDA says no land will be taken from farmers
USDA Secretary Vilsack on federal push to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by the year 2030: “There is no intent to take land away from farmers. The goal here is to create new opportunities."
April 26, 2021 | By: Alice Mannette, The Hutchinson News
Guebert: Managing climate risk is good business and good for the future
Recommendations for public and private actions to make agricultural finance more climate-resilient, including “make soil health a measure in loan appraisal”.
April 25, 2021 | By: Alan Guebert, Telegraph Herald
USDA National Climate Bank - Concept Note
AGree Coalition recommendations for the USDA National Climate Bank proposal to create financial incentives for conservation practices.
April 9, 2021 | By: Climate Food and Agriculture Dialogue, AGree Coalition
Biden’s Big Jobs Plan Is Really a Climate Bill. But It Left Out Farming.
Of Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, the most substantial mention of agriculture is $5 billion, or 0.25. However, mentions of agriculture could serve as 'placeholders' as the bill moves through Congress.
March 31, 2021 | By: Tom Philpott, Mother Jones
USDA Expands and Renews Conservation Reserve Program in Effort to Boost Enrollment and Address Climate Change
Increased payment rates and new financial incentives aim to enroll 4 million more acres under the CRP
April 21, 2021 | By: USDA Press
The ‘Unintended’ Consequences of Taxpayer-Subsidized Crop Insurance
Primer: understanding the impact of crop insurance on land ownership in the US
August 23, 2020 | By: Doug Peterson, Understanding Ag
Take Action
Submit your comments → We encourage you to make your voices heard and submit your comments about the importance of soil health and regenerative agriculture to USDA. Deadline: this Thursday, April 29 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
Add your name → Consider adding your organization’s name to this letter to USDA prepared by the American Sustainable Business Council: Regenerative Agriculture and Justice Working Group. You’ll join a growing list of businesses, advocates, and frontline groups calling on the USDA to advance a more just and regenerative food and agricultural system to address the climate crisis.
Make a donation to Land Core!