Lest we forget floods, another potential result from changing weather patterns due to climate change. Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service

“What does it mean, in terms of our agricultural economy, if we don’t do more to curb the greenhouse gas issues we’re facing?” Cowan asked.

A good question, and members of Congress don’t ask it often enough. Farmers, and subsequently consumers, are already feeling the effects of climate change. Dr. Joe Glauber, Chief Economist of the USDA, answered the question by discussing a recent USDA report that included these key messages, paraphrased below:

• Bad news: Climate change will have an impact on agricultural productivity, but
• Good news: there are steps we can take to curb emissions and lessen the negative impacts of climate change.

The report explains that the economic effects of climate change on agriculture depend on a complex web of factors. For example, climate change can impact the livestock industry through the price of feed grains, competition for pasture land, and changing patterns of pests and diseases. How it all plays out could very well depend on how the livestock industry adapts to climate change. Farmers could build livestock shelters to protect their animals from extreme temperatures, but how will farmers protect livestock from the less predictable changes in disease distribution?

Climate change is already costing us. Continuing to use the agricultural economy as an example, consider the hefty price tag of the drought of 2012; it cost taxpayers $14.2 billion in crop insurance alone. Our pocketbooks will be feeling the cost of rising food prices throughout 2013. That is why it is even more important to take action and promote agricultural policies that encourage climate-friendly farming.

As several agricultural producers testified in the hearing, conservation practices have the potential to make farming systems more resilient to changing weather patterns.  For example, conservation tillage practices and cover crops have the potential to improve soil health so that the soil holds more water and sequesters more carbon, keeping harmful greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and making agricultural land more productive.

 Sometimes people ask me why NWF is involved in the fight on climate change.  I work on agricultural issues, but all natural systems are connected. There is no greater threat to wildlife than climate change; it’s that simple.  A recent report by NWF shows the urgency of acting to protect wildlife against climate impacts. That is why I hope you’ll join us this Sunday at the “Forward on Climate Rally” in DC, or consider financially supporting our work.

When most people think about fighting climate change, they think about driving less, using wind power, or protecting carbon sinks like the rainforest.  However, cover crops are a farm practice that sequester carbon, improve water quality and improve a farmer’s profitability all at the same time.

Indiana farmer Ray McCormick visited National Wildlife Federation’s Washington, D.C. advocacy center recently to speak to Congress about the importance of conservation; while he was here, he shared with us the reasons he is so enthusiastic about cover crops.

Cover crops are exactly what they sound like; they are non-commodity crops that cover the soil during the winter when fields are usually left bare (hence the title of this blog). Some popular examples are annual ryegrass, winter wheat, clover, and radish.

Cover crops:

• Reduce soil erosion, resulting in more topsoil on the land and less in the streams;
• Increase soil  nutrients and organic matter, leading to more long-term soil productivity and less need to fertilize crops;
• Provide ground cover that serves as wildlife habitat and forage in the winter;
• Sequester carbon in the soil and from the atmosphere, reducing greenhouse gases; and
• If grown correctly, can improve soil moisture.

A Farmer’s Perspective

Watch the video for Ray’s take on cover crops.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cover crops are gaining popularity as a farming practice for good reason. “Don’t Farm Naked” is an unofficial slogan developed by cover crop enthusiasts to show support for this practical and beneficial farming practice. The Practical Farmers of Iowa created awesome ”Don’t Farm Naked” t-shirts and the Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard offers additional perspective on cover crops.

Cover crops are a great way to improve air and water quality while providing food and habitat for wildlife.  However, incentives for farmers to use conservation practices may be in danger if the proper protections are not included in the next Farm Bill. Make sure Congress knows you care that wildlife protections are in place in the 2012 Farm Bill.

The black-tailed prairie dog is a species of conservation need in Texas. Photo Credit: Bureau of Land Management

What Happened

Wednesday, July 11th, the House Agriculture Committee sat for nearly 13 hours working through amendments to the Farm Bill. While the House bill maintained the same overall level of funding for conservation as the Senate’s version of the bill, it failed to protect grasslands across the country.

Sodsaver limits federal subsidies for native grasslands that are broken out for farming. Although the House bill includes a sodsaver provision, it only applies to the Prairie Pothole Region. While the Prairie Potholes are an extremely important and imperiled region, especially for migratory birds, native grasslands are important habitat nationwide. Reps. Timothy Walz (D-Minn.) and Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), along with Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), offered an amendment that would extend this provision to the entire nation, protecting prairies throughout the country. However, the sponsoring members were forced to withdraw the amendment before the Committee could vote, due to strong opposition from Lucas and Conaway, who wished to exempt Texas and Oklahoma from sodsaver.

I am troubled most by the following arguments from Conaway and Lucas: they didn’t seem to think conversion of grassland into farmland is a problem in their states, and they argued farmers have a right to subsidies without holding any responsibility to taxpayers.  Chairman Lucas stated, “for me in Oklahoma, and my friend in Texas, this is a private property issue.”

Why Sodsaver is not a Private Property Issue

To quote the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, “Wildlife in Oklahoma belongs to the people of Oklahoma even though 95 percent of Oklahoma is privately-owned.” In other words, private landowners have a responsibility to everyone when it comes to wildlife conservation.

Receiving federal funds is not a landowner’s right. My family owns farmland in Tennessee, and we don’t want anyone to tell us how we have to use it. But we also don’t expect the government to subsidize any initiative we undertake. Sodsaver does not take away the rights of landowners to convert grassland into cropland. It merely ensures that they do not receive taxpayer dollars for practices that harm the public. Yet Sodsaver ensures farmers are free to do whatever they wish with their land.

Why Texas and Oklahoma Grasslands Need Protection

Unbroken land is not in use because it is not the most productive cropland. Without federal incentives combined with high crop prices, it would not be put into use. However, when taxpayers subsidize the risk, landowners convert valuable wildlife habitat and rangeland into crops . According to the USDA, total cropland acreage increased across the US in 2012.  In Texas, cropland increased by about 1.6 million acres from 2011 to 2012 – the second highest increase of any state.

Texas and Oklahoma are both home to many grassland species. The Texas Parks & Wildlife has classified many grassland mammals, insects, birds, and plants as “species of greatest conservation need,” including the black-tailed prairie dog.

Oklahoma crop acreage also increased in 2012 by approximately 600,000 acres. A national sodsaver provision is critical for protecting the habitat of grassland wildlife such as the Lesser Prairie Chicken, which is in danger of being listed as an endangered species and is part of conservation efforts in Oklahoma.

Lesser Prairie Chicken. Photo Credit: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

What You Can Do

Let Congress know you want the best wildlife protections included in the House Farm Bill.

Helping Farmers Who Help Wildlife

August 4 – The extreme flooding of 2011 has affected thousands of Americans. Year to date, there have been 47 declared disasters and emergencies in the U.S. in response to the impacts of severe storms and flooding. These events have taken lives, destroyed communities and racked up millions, if not billions, of dollars in damages.

Here is a look at how the floods have impacted one sector of the economy, and how the solutions NWF helped craft made a real difference for people and wildlife.

Major Victory for Salmon

August 3 – A U.S. District Court judge ruled yesterday that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service failed for the third time in 10 years to produce a legal and scientifically adequate plan (biological opinion) to protect imperiled Columbia-Snake River salmon from extinction.

“For a decade now, we have been advocating for real solutions to save salmon,” said John Kostyack, Vice President of Wildlife Conservation at the National Wildlife Federation. “With salmon populations hovering near 1 percent of their historic levels, the time for half-measures and vague promises is over.

Climate Change Hurts Indian Tribes Disproportionately, Report Finds

August 3 – North American Indian Tribes are especially harmed by climate change, as more ecological shifts and more frequent, more extreme weather events occur. Because Tribes are heavily dependent on natural resources, severe weather events like droughts, floods, wildfires, and snowstorms make tribal communities particularly vulnerable and impact Native Americans more than they impact the general population.

“Extreme weather events can be very destructive for Tribes, many of whom are already suffering from lack of resources to begin with,” said Dr. Amanda Staudt, scientist, National Wildlife Federation. “Heat waves and droughts can exacerbate plant and wildlife mortality, heighten the risk of wildfires and habitat loss, and compromise tribal lands.”

Science Solid: America’s Polar Bears on Thin Ice

August 2 – The Bureau of Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has reportedly placed on administrative leave Dr. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist, pending an internal investigation into “integrity issues.” Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has alleged the probe is a “political attempt to impugn [Dr. Monnett’s] observations on polar bears’ vulnerability to retreating sea ice.”

“When it comes to science demonstrating the threat to polar bears posed by global warming, this study is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Doug Inkley, senior scientist with the National Wildlife Federation. “There’s a massive body of established scientific evidence showing receding Arctic sea ice is putting polar bears in greater danger with each passing year.”

Wildlife Bears Heavy Burden Under Debt Ceiling Deal

August 2 – Legislation to raise the debt ceiling and cut federal spending passed Congress today and was signed into law by President Obama. The deal imposes discretionary budget program caps, resulting in reductions for the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies that focus on conservation.

“The deal to resolve the Congressional debt ceiling crisis and avoid the catastrophe of a national default is clearly a relief for America,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. But moving forward, members of Congress must remember the heavier a burden our conservation programs are forced to bear in the short term, the higher a risk we face in the long term – not just in higher public health costs, but in jeopardizing the wildlife and special places that generations of Americans have protected and handed down to their children and grandchildren.”

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• The New York Times: Climate Change an Extra Burden for Native Americans, Study Says
• The National Journal: U.S. Oil Giants Poised to Gain on Keystone Pipeline

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

File photo via Patrick Briggs, Flickr

Sprouting up among the wheat fields of northeastern North Carolina is a new cash crop: Wind-harvesting turbines. As The Virginian-Pilot reports, it’s a field of dreams for farmers that co-exists with their current crops:

Atlantic Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, will pay [Horace] Pritchard and other landowners in Pasquotank and Perquimans counties $6,000 per turbine per year. He and the other farmers still can work their land around the turbines’ concrete base. This is like having a new crop with a steady income no matter the weather, he said.

“I’ve told people I don’t know anything I could raise legal that could match that,” he said.

The wind farm will deliver a short-term job explosion, with a long-term sustainable base:

Atlantic Wind, in its application to the state Utilities Commission, says it will invest $600 million into the Pasquotank and Perquimans site, hire 600 people during construction and maintain 15 to 20 permanent employees. The company received permits from both counties last month and expects to begin construction before the year ends.

For local governments, it’s a huge source of new revenue in the midst of tough economic times. Atlantic Wind is expected to be Pasquotank County’s largest taxpayer by three-fold.

Properly sited, wind power can deliver sustainable energy at an affordable cost while creating a surge of new jobs. And not just on land – a National Wildlife Federation report last year documented the huge potential for wind power off America’s Atlantic coast.

Photo: Doug Inkley, Ph.D.

Unlike scores of children around the globe, brown marmorated stink bugs don’t mind eating their veggies or yours. The invasive species is rather fond of broccoli and asparagus, some of the worst dinner time offenders. They also like soybeans, okra, corn and cotton. And probably some of your favorites, like apples, peaches and tomatoes!

National Wildlife Federation senior biologist Doug Inkley, Ph.D. recently found the little bugs in his garden after a harrowing wintertime home invasion. During the winter and spring, he collected more than 26,000 inside his home. Let that number sink in for a moment.

Photo: Doug Inkley, Ph.D.

Now that it’s warmer, the brown pests move from indoors into people’s gardens, orchards, vineyards and farms, ruining people’s fruits, vegetables, hard work and bottom lines. This last weekend alone Doug captured 1,000 stink bugs in his garden, many attacking his asparagus plants.

Farmers and gardeners may have found a new enemy in stink bugs, but little kids now have an unfortunate new ally in their war against veggies.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/04/07/gsif.burpless.cows.cnn