Bronaugh Hits Ground Running Pt 2

Bronaugh Hits Ground Running Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, newly appointed Deputy Secretary at the USDA, says USDA can’t meet their climate goals without the help of farmers, ranchers, and landowners.

So, speaking recently at a press conference with Farm Broadcasters, Bronaugh said moving forward the USDA is ready to work WITH the ag community, and not against them …

BRONAUGH … “To be effective, one thing we know is we're going to have to work with our farmers, ranchers, and our landowners to engage. It’s not something that will happen through regulation.”

Bronaugh says they’re the ones who do the work so their involvement is crucial …

BRONAUGH … “We're going to have to have our farmers and ranchers, and landowners closely engaged as we make decisions about practices and opportunities for our farmers and ranchers to really meet the climate change goals. So that's foremost: this is going to be farmer-based, and that's going to be the beginning point of how we move forward.”

Bronaugh says USDA is ready with a $4-billion investment to meet these goals …

BRONAUGH … “So, we will have some funding to address food production, and that funding will come from some grants, training, and technical assistance for producers and essential workers. Another pot will address food processing: investments in new and expanded regional processing capacity.”

Dr. Bronaugh says they will be working to make the funds available as quickly as possible.

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