3 Recent USDA Wins and what the Department should do Next

Jun 23, 2021

By Ben Thomas

Over the past several weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made important progress in advancing climate-smart agriculture and creating equitable opportunities for producers to be part of the climate solution.

Here are three recent examples of progress you may have missed in the news, plus next steps for the agency to continue this momentum.

1. Increased financial support for climate-smart practices.

USDA’s Risk Management Agency will offer subsidies of up to $5 per acre on federal crop insurance premiums for producers who planted cover crops this spring. This federal program is similar to existing, popular state-level programs in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

This subsidy leverages the power and ubiquity of federal crop insurance to reward early adopters of a conservation practice that can increase climate resilience. Hopefully the program will continue in future years, especially if data shows that the subsidy premium encourages more widespread adoption and continued use of cover crops.

2. Renewed commitment to equity and justice.

In its 90-day progress report on climate-smart agriculture and forestry, USDA committed to actions to advance environmental justice and equity, including consulting with Black, Indigenous and farmers of color, removing barriers to program participation and identifying ways for programs to be more inclusive.

Importantly, the report explicitly mentions the well-documented history of discrimination against Black farmers, and the leadership that Black and Indigenous farmers have shown on resilient agriculture. This mirrors recent comments from Terry Crosby, the new Natural Resources Conservation Service chief, about how racial justice is among his top priorities.

3. Enhanced focus on measurement, tracking and reporting.

The Biden administration’s proposed USDA budget would increase staffing and research budgets for the Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service and Risk Management Agency. It would also increase funding for USDA Climate Hubs.

These agencies and resources provide critical scientific and economic insights to help farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change. They can also help policymakers and researchers better understand and quantify the benefits that USDA programs provide.

To that end, USDA launched a new effort to measure the climate and environmental benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program, a farm bill-funded program that pays farmers to take marginal lands out of production. USDA will also use data gathered through this effort to calibrate and improve existing models for estimating carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reductions under different scenarios.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.