Measuring Climate-Smart Agriculture

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $300 million to improve the accuracy of greenhouse gas measurements. White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi says the funds will go towards improving the measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification of emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture.

Zaidi… “It's about making sure we are helping the people, many of whom are on the front lines of facing these impacts: farmers, ranchers, foresters, and folks in rural communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, giving them the tools they’ll need to be part of the solution supporting and enhancing climate-smart agriculture and forestry work at USDA but, really, around the country and the world.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says agriculture and forestry will be critical in advancing the national climate agenda.

Vilsack… “It is important that we embrace the notion of climate-smart agriculture and forestry. But to do that, we've got to get the science and the innovation right. We have to have accurate, reliable measurements of the impact and effect of the changes and the practices that we're embracing. We get those from constantly monitoring those practices and making sure that we're reporting them and verifying those results.”

Vilsack says these new investments will help show what works and what doesn’t in climate-smart agriculture and forestry.