Land Core Newsletter - September 2021
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Many of the big policy issues we have been discussing and sharing with you over the last few months are being decided on in the coming days.
This means that now is our chance to make any last requests in regards to increased funding for conservation (in the reconciliation and infrastructure bills), adding appropriate legislative guardrails (like using new funds specifically for soil health practices) and ensuring adequate resources for implementation, training and technical support.
Thank you all for everything you’ve been doing to advance this work, and we will be watching closely to see where things land.
Take care,
The Land Core Team
Policy Updates
Conservation Title Takes Shape in Reconciliation Bill: The House Budget Committee passed the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill Saturday, which is set to go to the House floor this week, alongside the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The agriculture section of this proposal (within which we have been advocating for a doubling of conservation and technical assistance funding) currently provides $28 billion for conservation, including a new $5 billion program for direct annual payments for planting cover crops. While short of our goal, this still represents historic funding commitments for conservation programs and will make a big difference. As Agri-Pulse noted: “The amendment effectively rewrites the conservation title of the 2018 farm bill before the legislation is due for an update in 2023. However, much of the money is backloaded into 2024, 2025 and 2026, so the next Congress could potentially reshape the funding significantly in a new farm bill.” This means we’ll need to continue advocating to make sure baselines are maintained in the 2023 Farm Bill.
Land Core Submits Testimony to House Ag Committee: See our full comments following last week's hearing on Voluntary Carbon Markets in Agriculture and Forestry and to review S.1251/H.R.2820, the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA) of 2021, here →
Risk Model Updates
Development Update: As our team works to complete the MVP of a predictive model of the risk mitigating benefits of soil health practices, we are beginning to share findings with our pilot partner, Compeer Financial. We will soon begin ground truthing the model’s outcomes and are planning to solicit input about meaningful incentives for soil health practice implementation, before moving into piloting those incentives at retail level with Compeer’s clients.
Building Relationships: Land Core was able to reconnect with Zach Ducheneaux, the new Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), this week. Zach is continuing to follow the progress of the Risk Model and our pilot development with Compeer Financial, and we look forward to finding ways to support the agency in advancing conservation and soil health. We were also pleased to hear about the direction of the agency, and its commitment to supporting producers and finding flexibility in its credit and loan programs.
In the (Local) Press: We're excited to share this new article, published by Michigan State University (MSU) and featuring Dr. Frederi Viens, professor in the Department of Statistics and Probability & Director of the Actuarial Science Program at MSU, and the lead statistician on the Land Core Risk Model. The piece offers a new perspective on the potential of quantifying soil health practices through our model. We’re proud to work with Dr. Viens, Dr. Timothy Bowles, and our fantastic team and working group on making farming for soil health more feasible for farmers, profitable for lenders and insurers, and better for the environment—in what Dr. Viens calls ”a win, win, win." Read Now →
Weekend Listening
Land Core on NCAT’s ATTRA “Voices From The Field” Podcast
September 15, 2021
Our co-founders, Aria McLauchlan and Harley Cross, spoke with NCAT’s Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist, Jeff Schahczenski, about our work and theory of change, and took a deep dive into our work quantifying the risk mitigating impacts of soil health practices and the potential of our risk modeling work to revolutionize agricultural finance and insurance.
“Regenerative Ag + Healthy Soil: Part 1” - Aria McLauchlan on O44 Podcast with Carrie Dorr
September 29, 2021
In this first of a series of conversations, our co-founder & executive director, Aria McLauchlan, and seasoned entrepreneur & founder of Pure Barre, Carrie Dorr, explore the differences between industrial and regenerative ag, the big deal about soil health (including for human health!), and why we got into this work. Stay tuned for the next episode, where Aria & Carrie will dive into Land Core’s program areas.
Listen now →
What We're Reading
How agricultural lenders can support farmers in boosting soil health
Research by EDF, The Nature Conservancy and Beck Ag confirms farmer interest in working with lenders to realize benefits of soil health, underscores need for robust quantification tools.
September 13, 2021 | By: Maggie Monast & Vincent Gauthier, EDF
The Regenerative Agriculture and Human Health Nexus: Insights from Field to Body
New Croatan Institute report strengthens links between the soil and gut microbiomes.
September 2021 | By: David LeZaks Ph.D & Mandy Ellerton, The Croatan Institute
Democrats' measure immediately pumps money into climate-smart ag, offers USDA loan relief
Democrats allocate a historic $28 billion to conservation in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.
September 27, 2021 | By: Philip Brasher, Agri-Pulse
Opinion: How soil can save us all
Following last week’s UN Food Systems Summit, soil scientist Dr. Rattan Lal highlights centrality of soil health to food systems, endorses Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health, and makes 3 key recommendations.
September 23, 2021 | By: Dr. Rattan Lal, Devex
Farmers in all 50 states routinely closed out of climate-friendly conservation programs, new report
IATP report finds farmer demand for conservation programs far outweighs available funding.
September 9, 2021 | By: Institute for Agriculture Trade & Policy (IATP)
Crowdfunded, climate-smart farming is rebuilding soil and savings
Deep dive into barriers to adoption of soil health practices, public and private solutions including one company working to overcome funding gap.
September 27, 2021 | By: Grist
Regenerative Agriculture Set to Blossom Under Biden Administration
Regen ag gains recognition of federal government: “I see farmers deploying cutting-edge tools to make (the) soil of our heartland the next frontier in carbon innovation.” - President Biden.
August 24, 2021 | By: Heather Bourbeau, Attention FWD
New statistical model throws weight behind sustainable farming practices
MSU’s College of Natural Science features the Land Core Risk Model, being developed jointly, including by MSU faculty and researchers.
September 13, 2021 | By: Michigan State University