Working to improve climate change legislation for summer fallow farmers
Farm and Ranch June 22, 2009 No matter what you think of global warming or climate change, legislation on climate change is coming. Uhrich: “The legislation is definitely going to happen. There is so much momentum right now there is not doubt it is going to pass.” That’s Randy Uhrich, National Legislation Chairman for the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, who has been making trips to Washington D.C. this year. No-tillers and direct seeders may benefit from climate change legislation due to the carbon those farming systems can sequester in the soil. But what Uhrich and others have been working on is how conventional dryland winter wheat/summer fallow farmers might be able to benefit since they aren’t sequestering carbon. Uhrich: “We are going from the angle we are not going to sequester it so maybe we can conserve it. So basically through precision ag, and there are provisions in the bill right now that basically allow for some efficiencies you know, getting some offsets. So we are going to be looking at mapping and GPS and try to capitalize on some of these monies.” Negotiations were still ongoing late last week on the role agriculture and forestry will play in a cap and trade system and the role of the USDA. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants the House to vote on climate change legislation before the July 4th recess. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer who heads up the Environment Committee, would like to mark up a bill before the August recess. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
