For decades, environmental and farm groups have forced Congress, USDA and farmers to adopt new protection programs, but increasing measures have progressed. With each form bill, some lawmakers have threatened to eliminate safety programs, but they have been able to survive and expand it.
The country’s largest form lobby, the American Farm Bureau Federation, had long denied the facts of climate change, Fight against the climate action And adopting government policy positions that question the scientific consensus that climate change is due to human beings. Its members – most of the American farmers followed the same mentality.
But since the facts of climate change have begun killing American farmers on the ground in the form of more extreme weather, and since security and climate -based programs have expanded the financial support opportunities, this mentality has begun to change.
“They were concerned about what their climate policy meant for their actions,” Bonnie said. “They felt justice. But we said: Let’s contribute.”
Advocate groups and former USDA employees say the Trump administration’s rolebacks and freezing have been threatened to stop or ban this progress.
Boney added, “We have created this great infrastructure. We have solved huge problems,” Boney added, and they are hurting it all. “
“It took such a long time,” Stellerman said. “The idea that climate change is occurring and that farmers can be part of the solution, and can create more flexible farming and food system against this risk. The IRA has really put the dollar behind it. Now it is all danger.”
Burke says it intends to continue its methods of protection and carbon storage on its Michigan farm, even without USDA protection.
But, he says, many of his neighbors will potentially stop protecting measures without the belief of government support.
“Many people are struggling, just trying to find out how to pay your bills, get fuel to run, run the fuel, fuel,” he said. “The last thing they want to do is sit with someone of NRCS who says, ‘If I do this, I probably get a payment in a year.’ This is not going to happen. “
This story originally appeared Within the news of the climate.