Farmers and ranchers have a good story to tell regarding sustainability and climate-friendly practices, according to Andrew Walmsley, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Congressional Relations director.
Agriculture, he noted, is part of the foundation of sustainability.
“Sustainability’s huge for farmers and ranchers,” Walmsley said in AFBF’s Newsline podcast. “With the debate around climate change, we’ve got a pretty good story to tell on what has been achieved in a voluntary, incentive-based fashion. We’re producing 270 percent more with the same amount of inputs over the last 50 years, and that’s all tied to innovation in agriculture.”
There are many ways farmers and ranchers implement sustainable practices.
“Innovative techniques in agriculture helps build upon that platform of sustainability, and it’s not just on farm practices,” he said. “We can sequester carbon in the soil. We can adopt practices like cover crops, but we’ve also been big proponents of renewable energy, whether that’s biofuels, on-farm solar and wind, digesters, those types of technologies. Agriculture is always looking for a solution.
Walmsley said it’s important farmers be part of the sustainability conversation.
“There’s certain things that we can definitely support. There’s certain things that we can build upon that we are already doing,” he said. “But there’s also things that can harm agriculture when it comes to public policy. So, it’s important for farmers to be engaged in making sure that folks are inviting farmers and ranchers to the table to talk about our good work and what we can do going forward.”
From forestry to fish and fruit to fiber, Texas farmers and ranchers grow a variety of crops. Click here to meet some of those farmers.
Modern agriculture uses fewer resources—water, land and energy—to satisfy choices when it comes to food, fiber and fuel.
Click here to hear from farmers and ranchers in Texas Farm Bureau’s Our Food video.