Farm Bureau seeks more flexibility for conservation ByDaveKranz
be included in emerging climate policy discussions,” he said. Johansson also emphasized the need to ensure sufficient disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers, such as the Wi ldf ire and Hurr icane Indemni ty ProgramPlus, or WHIP+. In encouraging long-term adoption of climate-smart agricultural practic- es, financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers must be “consis- tent, sustainable and long term,” he said. Technologies and conser vat ion practices that are “readily understood, scalable and easy to implement” will be most likely to be used on farms and ranches, Johansson said, adding that farmers must also have “a full under- standing” of any tradeoffs from pests, costs or regulatory ramifications. “This should be coupled with funding and emphasis on agricultural research and extension,” he said. “To further the adoption of on-farm climate-smart practices, we must not only compensate early adopters but also consider the economics of the farm and assist those being expected to do more,” Johansson said. “Only inworking togeth- er can we achieve solutions that make agriculture more climate resilient while remaining viable.” Inresponsetoaquestion,healsowarned that programsmust remain flexible. “As farmers, we get a lot of programs that start out as carrots and can end up as a stick,” Johansson said. “We have to re- member that, as the climate can change, so toocanconditionson the farm, in terms of what works andwhat doesn’t work.” Johansson was joined on the panel of presenters by Charles “CJ” Isbell Jr., a farmer from Virginia; Kimberly Ratcliff, a ranch manager from Texas; and Keith Paustian, a professor of soil and crop sci- ences fromColorado State University. (DaveKranz is editor of AgAlert.Hemay be contacted at dkranz@cfbf.com.) Projects seek better data on snowpack Measuring snow, and forecasting how much may be available for future water supply, has taken on increasing impor- tance—andtheU.S.BureauofReclamation will invest $2.5 million in improving its ability to assess the snowpack. Oneproject looks at betterways tomea- sure snow in the San Joaquin River water- shed, augmentingplannedAirborneSnow Observatory flights. “This information is critical to the oper- ations at Millerton Reservoir and the San Joaquin River Settlement when water is needed early in the runoff season to sup- port salmon restoration,” the bureau said. Other research supported by the grants will employ satellite technology andartifi- cial intelligence to improve snowpackand water-supply forecasting.
Land that produces food and farm products also provides crucial conser- vation and climate benefits—and feder- al conservation programs must focus on keeping working lands working, accord- ing to California FarmBureau testimony before a congressional subcommittee. California FarmBureauPresident Jamie Johanssontestifiedvirtuallylastweekbefore theU.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee onConservationandForestry. Johansson said the California Farm Bureau supports “enhancing and ex- panding” the ability of farmers, ranchers and foresters to participate in voluntary, climate-smart practices that sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions and build climate resilience. “Our farmers and ranchers have a proven track record of doing more with less,” he said, noting farmer investments in water recharge, irrigation efficiency, energy conservation, cleaner-running farmequipment andnumerous other on- farm conservation practices. “With so much already happening at the field level, it is important to consider how new federal policies and programs will overlay with existing state climate programs and grower-led initiatives,” Johansson said. To achieve the best results, he said, fed- eral conservation programs must retain
California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson testifies virtually about federal conservation programs before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
and enhance their flexibility to incorpo- rate all crop types and farm sizes. “The cost of productionper acre aswell as the value per acre of each crop will in- fluence which practices and which in- centives are most attractive,” Johansson said in a written statement supplement- ing his oral testimony. Because of that, he encouraged the subcommittee to focus on “broad and inclusive” practices that emphasize “a list of options as opposed to a prescrip- tive checklist.” “Every farm, every ranch and ev-
ery field has a different story to tell,” Johansson said. “Producers should be able to choose which outcome-based practices best fit their operation.” For example, he said, cover crops can be an effective tool, but might not be practical among all the 400 differ- ent crops and commodities produced in California, which are grown under a wide variety of cropping systems and farm sizes. “A one-size-fits-all approach, or em- phasizing only one or few practices, will not be thebest path forward for American agriculture, especially in states like California that produce large amounts of specialty crops,” Johansson said. Noting that he and his family have been forced to evacuate due to wild- f i res on three separate occas ions, Johansson urged the subcommittee to include forestry and grazing prac- tices as strategies to restore forest and rangeland health. “This makes it critically important that federal, state and private forest and rangeland stakeholders across owner- ship types, including grazing permittees,
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6 Ag Alert May 19, 2021
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