January 19th, 2021
By Lori Sallet
Statement on the Inauguration of President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we at American Farmland Trust welcome the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr. We look forward to working with President Biden and his team to positively impact farmers and ranchers of all sizes and across diverse communities; to protect and steward one of this nation’s most important natural resources, its farmland and ranchland; to implement environmentally sound farming practices on that land; and to ensure the next generation has the resources and support necessary to take up the charge of feeding Americans.
“At AFT, we have committed to doubling the amount of permanently protected farmland by 2040 and reducing current loss of this vital resource by 75%, adopting regenerative practices at scale so that agriculture captures more carbon than it emits, and helping 600,000 new farmers and ranchers get started and succeed.
“At the end of 2020, AFT shared a set of transition recommendations with the Biden Administration transition team, chosen because they can be implemented quickly without requiring additional action by the Congress. These recommendations are not intended to represent the full breadth of policies supported by AFT to address the many challenges facing agriculture. However, we believe these recommendations are important to building a better future for agriculture. After all, Farming is our Future.”
For more information about AFT’s transition recommendations and what to expect from the new administration on agriculture policy, tune in to a special livestream conversation on January 21 at 12 p.m. Eastern with AFT’s federal policy staff. You can watch on the social platform of your choosing:
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on a half million additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.