Earth Day is Every Day for America’s Farmers and Ranchers

Did you know that farming using no-till and cover crop practices can reduce as much carbon as removing 53 million passenger cars from the road for one year?

At American Farmland Trust, we believe farmers and ranchers have been, and will continue to be, an essential part of the climate solution. There is no question that better farming practices provide a wide range of environmental benefits, including sequestering carbon and economic benefits for the farm. HOW? Read on.

Every day, America’s farming families work as stewards of the land and produce the food, fuel, and fiber we need to survive. They play a critical role in protecting the land that sustains us all. While farmers are resilient, the recent unprecedented weather events and market disruptions have put their businesses to the test. But the fact remains that keeping farmers farming is one of the best ways to protect our environment, now and into the future.

Get the facts and stay up to date on research from AFT

Since 1980, AFT has been working across the country to protect farmland, promote sound practices and keep farmers on the land. Below is a snapshot of how we’re supporting farmers in sustaining our environment by reducing runoff and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, while raising their economic bottom line:

• Creating tools to help farmers adopt sound farming practices:
  • Biochar: We are working to advance sustainable biochar production and using it as a climate-smart tool in the soil health management systems toolbox.
  • Soil Health: We are conducting cost-benefit analyses and case studies on the operations of “soil health successful” producers.
  • Cover Crops: “Our Conquering Cover Crop Challenges from Coast to Coast” project is underway showcasing solutions to adoption barriers.

• Advocating for Better Policies:
  • We are working to support more farmers in building resilience and mitigating climate change in the 2023 Farm Bill and are building a collection of state reports that estimate how much the state’s farmers can contribute to climate mitigation goals, and provide policy recommendations to get there.

• Conducting research into climate smart practices:
  • Our report, “Combatting Climate Change on U.S. Cropland,” focuses on the significant potential of no-till and cover crop practices to increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce nitrous oxide emissions for a net reduction in GHG emissions.
  • AFT was awarded a $30 million USDA Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities on transitioning to climate-neutral beef and is a partner on three more CSCPs.