WASHINGTON – Today Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-Ark.) unveiled a proposal for renewing the farm bill, which sets farm and food policy.
The following is a statement from Geoff Horsfield, Environmental Working Group policy director.
The Republican Senate farm bill framework fails to meet the needs of farmers and the planet. This framework pales in comparison to the outline proposed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), which takes key steps to ensure that farmers and ranchers are rewarded when they make an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower air and water pollution. Boozman’s framework does not.
Farmer demand for climate-smart agriculture is growing. Congress should ensure the Department of Agriculture makes it a priority to support farmers offering to reduce greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer, and methane emissions from animals and their waste.
Unless farmers are provided the tools to cut emissions from agriculture, farming will soon be the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gases.
