Climate Column

By Jonathan Reinbold, Sustainability, Research & Grant Manager at Organic Valley Here’s an interesting paradox: livestock is both a major contributor to and a solution for excess carbon in the atmosphere, which is intensifying climate change. The most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gases emitted each year; the … Read More

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy The Climate Column has covered a number of grazing practices that encourage soil health, such as prescribed grazing and rotational grazing. These practices store atmospheric carbon in the soil while protecting forage from the increasingly volatile precipitation patterns driven by climate change, allowing producers to both mitigate … Read More

By Robert Parkhurst, Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Markets Director at Environmental Defense Fund With international trade pressures, low commodity prices, and unpredictable weather patterns, it’s a tough time for agriculture right now. But farmers are now and have always been innovative and resilient – and very resourceful. That’s why a new opportunity might be of interest to … Read More

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Climate science, a multidisciplinary field that addresses the causes and effects of climate change, predicts future trends, and establishes mitigation and adaptation practices, is increasingly vital as extreme temperatures and erratic weather become more common. We all benefit from climate change research, but it is particularly critical for family … Read More

By Rori Cowan, Senior Program Associate at the American Carbon Registry Agricultural carbon offsets have been a hot topic in both the environmental and agricultural worlds in the last decade in the fight to mitigate climate change. While there have been substantial hurdles to implementation, such as prohibitive monitoring requirements, there have also been significant … Read More

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Last week, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a study, “Rotating Crops, Turning Profits: How Diversified Farming Systems Can Help Farmers While Protecting Soil and Preventing Pollution.” It focuses on the environmental benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased soil organic matter, of … Read More

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Last month on the Climate Column, we introduced the idea of prescribed grazing, a conservation practice in which the frequency and intensity of grazing, as well as the density and placement of livestock, are regulated with a specific goal in mind. Prescribed grazing can be carried out in a … Read More

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Over the past several months, the Climate Column has featured many conservation practices, like installing filter strips or planting cover crops, that help mitigate climate change and build an operation’s climate resilience. For many producers, it may not be immediately clear which practices would be most beneficial for their … Read More