Articles Tagged with ''cover crops''

Conservation officials in California have outlined 10 conservation practices with high potential for benefits that will receive priority incentive payments.

A first-of-its kind study will pull together massive amounts of USDA farm data to assess the impact of conservation practices, and the department is separately considering a new crop insurance product designed to encourage growers to limit nitrogen usage.

The incoming Biden administration is expected to take a new look at using crop insurance to encourage farming measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect water quality, but the effort will face an old challenge — finding the data to prove that the practices don’t increase program losses.

A nationwide cap and trade program hasn’t been on the legislative horizon since the idea died in Congress in 2010, but government and private market developers are counting on there being a robust demand for carbon offsets from a host of corporations, including energy companies, airlines and even major food companies, that need to offset their emissions.

A dizzying array of ongoing research projects, with sponsors ranging from the Energy Department to multinational food industry giants, may determine whether carbon credit markets can become a reliable, meaningful source of income for farmers.

Multinational giants in retail, agribusiness, meat processing and food manufacturing, along with the largest restaurant chains and leading apparel brands, want U.S. farmers and ranchers to produce food and fiber more sustainably. This is the first of a five-part Agri-Pulse series that looks in-depth at how reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could have far-reaching effects on American farmers and ranchers.

Agricultural lenders should design their loan programs to encourage farmers' adoption of farming practices resilient to the impacts of climate change, the Environmental Defense Fund says in a new report.

Chris Sayer, a lemon and avocado grower (along with some figs) in Ventura County, California, has been using cover crops in his 50 acres of trees since 2005, with some clear benefits.