March 2021 - 6

EDITOR'S LETTER
Sustainability takes many forms
Last fall, an alliance of groups representing farmers, forest owners, the food sector,
state governments and environmental advocates unveiled a set of recommendations
to guide the development of federal climate policy.
The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) was formed in February 2020 by four
groups that now co-chair the alliance: American
Farm Bureau Federation, Environmental Defense
Fund, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
and National Farmers Union. The alliance has
since expanded to include FMI - The Food
Industry Association, National Alliance of
Forest Owners, National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture and The Nature
Conservancy.
Together, the group developed more than
40 recommendations based on three principles:
agricultural and forestry climate policies must be
built upon voluntary, incentive-based programs and
market-driven opportunities; they must promote
resilience and adaptation in rural communities; and
they must be science-based.
Gary Pullano
Editor
Climate policies will impact farmers, forest owners, ranchers, rural and limitedresources
communities, wildlife and natural resources and must be thoughtfully crafted
to account for any potential inequities, consequences and tradeoffs, the group stated.
" We are proud to have broken through historical barriers to form this unique
alliance focused on climate policy, " Zippy Duvall, FACA co-chair and president of
the American Farm Bureau Federation, said at the time of the group's formation.
" We began discussions not knowing whether we would ultimately reach
agreement. It was important to me to reject punitive climate policy ideas of the
past in favor of policies that respect farmers and support positive change. Our final
recommendations do just that. "
" More resilient farms and forests protect the agricultural economy, reduce risk from
the climate impacts that are already here and help prevent worsening climate impacts
in the future, " said FACA co-chair Chuck Conner, president of the National Council of
Farmer Cooperatives.
" Much as a farmer co-op gets its strength from uniting many producers to
achieve a single goal, so too does FACA. Through FACA, the food, forestry and
agriculture sectors can speak with a single voice on climate and, leveraging the
unique perspectives and special talents of its members, help drive the conversation
about the role that the food, forestry and agriculture sector can play in addressing
climate policy. "
" Climate change is adding another enormous variable to the already unpredictable
work of farming. Every year, farmers face more frequent and severe weather
events, making it just that much harder to make a profit. There are concrete actions
farmers can take to build resilience to weather extremes and pull carbon out of the
atmosphere, but they need strong policy behind them, " said Rob Larew, FACA
co-chair and president of National Farmers Union.
Read the full recommendations at www.agclimatealliance.com. They cover six areas
of focus: soil health, livestock and dairy, forests and wood products, energy, research,
and food loss and waste.
The newest award to come from the Vegetable Growers News parent company,
Great American Media Services, the Specialty Grower Sustainability Award seeks to
recognize a grower or farming operation that has put in major efforts to improve
sustainability in their operation. The efforts can be reflected in several categories,
including waste water management, soil health, climate control labor, advocacy
and more.
Any growers or farming operations who have taken significant steps to improve
sustainability in their agricultural practices can be nominated. Nominees will be judged
based on: Innovative Thinking, Execution, Impact/Results and Leadership in the Industry.
Sustainability in agriculture is a priority for Valent U.S.A., the sponsor of the
inaugural Specialty Grower Sustainability Award.
Valent's sponsorship of this award is its way of helping to support growers as they
take the next incremental step toward increasing the sustainability and preservation
of their operation, whether that's adopting conservation tillage practices, improved
utilization of IPM or looking to reduce food waste on the farm.
To submit a nomination for the Sustainability award, visit
vegetablegrowersnews.com/sustainability.
The last day for nominations will be April 16, 2021.
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UC's Mitchell receives No-Till Innovator
Research & Education award
Jeffrey Mitchell, University of California
Cooperative Extension specialist, received the
No-Till Innovator Research & Education award
for his commitment to the advancement of
no-till farming systems.
Vegetable
Growers
News.com
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Legumes, dark greens and red and orange
vegetables expand reach
According to Food Availability Data from the
USDA, Economic Research Service, legumes, dark
greens, and red and orange vegetable have
expanded their shares of total U.S. vegetable
availability over the last 20 years.
Sweet potato meeting held to discuss research,
updates
After what has been called an average crop
year, the annual meeting of the Louisiana Sweet
Potato Association provided a better outlook.
FDA: E. coli outbreak likely came from California
The FDA has released the results of an
investigation into an E. coli outbreak last fall
that led to 40 illnesses across the country.
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THEY SAID IT
-JIM JASINKSKI, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
P. 26
4 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
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They aren't outright killing the bees, but they're making it
harder for them to do their job. "
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showcase/vegetablegrowers-news
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March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2021
