February 26, 2020 – Today, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) announced the Agriculture Resilience Act (H.R. 5861), which would establish climate change mitigation and climate resilience in agriculture as top priorities for USDA research and conservation programs.

OFRF has completed an extensive review of climate-in-agriculture research and we believe the ARA’s goal of making U.S. agriculture climate-neutral by 2040 is achievable. The Act provides a science-based blueprint through which U.S. agriculture and food systems can meet the challenge of the climate crisis. Its provisions include climate resilience and mitigation through soil health management systems, advanced grazing management, public cultivar and livestock breed development for resilience and input efficiency, and the establishment of sustainable, organic, and conservation practices as Good Farming Practices for Risk Management programs.

OFRF has been using research-based analysis to inform public policy for nearly three decades. Recently, we contributed to a report from the National Sustainable Organic Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) titled Moving American Agriculture to “Net Zero”.

One of the principal authors of that report, Dr. Mark Schonbeck, OFRF Research Associate, is also the lead author of OFRF’s educational series on organic farming and soil health. His examination of research related to the capacity of sustainable organic systems to sequester soil carbon and minimize nitrous oxide and methane emissions was published in OFRF’s Organic Practices for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Carbon Sequestration.

We know organic practices can play a key role in addressing climate change and we are committed to supporting and furthering the exciting potential of organic practices to offset greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.

Science is critical to developing policy recommendations that optimize the net climate impact of agriculture, and we will continue to partner on a national level to both develop and put forth those recommendations.

Read statements of support for the Agriculture Resilience Act here.

To learn more about the Agriculture Resilience Act, visit: https://pingree.house.gov/netzeroagriculture/