Climate smart first

When it comes to the agricultural race to fight climate change and produce climate smart commodities, we hear our leaders say Speaker2: We need to get there first. We need to be able to say to the world we have led in this effort. Speaker1: And so Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, the other day to announce the launch of a major agricultural endeavor. Speaker2: The partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities to develop pilot projects that seek to deploy climate smart practices across numerous farms, ranches and forested lands. Speaker1: Vilsack says the U.S. is in a race now with producers in other countries to provide what consumers seem to want. Speaker2: We know that consumers and retailers here at home have an interest in purchasing commodities produced using climate, smart agriculture and forestry practices. We know global markets are beginning to place an increasingly higher value on climate, smart agriculture and forestry products. Speaker1: Surveys show consumers in the U.S. and around the world are willing to pay more for plant and livestock products that make a legitimate claim of being produced with practices that are environment and climate friendly that reduce carbon emissions or take carbon out of the air a legitimate claim. So Vilsack says part of the requirements for these projects will be to answer questions like Speaker2: Do the practices work as intended? Are the benefits real? Are they having an impact? How do we know if they're having an impact? Well, we need to be prepared to answer those questions. We want to Speaker3: Maintain public confidence. We want to demonstrate that these voluntary efforts work and will reduce greenhouse gases. Speaker1: Undersecretary of Agriculture Robert Bonney. Speaker3: And we hope we'll get some new technologies in. And as you know, there are a lot out there that increase the accuracy of those measurements. It's a critically important issue. Speaker1: Secretary Vilsack says we know certain practices, such as planting off season cover crops on a farm can help reduce greenhouse gases and make the soils healthier. Speaker2: But these partnerships are in a position to test them at scale, to build on them and to improve Speaker1: Them to pay for these demonstration projects. Speaker2: We're going to make available one billion dollars. Speaker1: Supporters say this investment in climate smart demonstration projects could bring a payback later on worth much more than the $1 billion investment.Â