American Farmland Trust has outlined five policy recommendations to ensure the nation’s agricultural land remains available to produce food and help fight climate change. 

The recommendations are focused on the Department of Agriculture under the upcoming Joe Biden administration. 

Broadly, the organization says the policies address farmland protection and viability, farmland access for the next generation of farmers and ranchers and regenerative agriculture to “harness agriculture’s ability to fight climate change and become more resilient to its impacts.” 

The recommendations include a National Cover Crop Initiative, establishing the Commission on Farm Transitions, and maximizing the potential of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Agricultural Land Easements. 

Additionally, the recommendations call for the administration to strengthen the Farmland Protection Policy Act and create a debt for the Working Lands Initiative. 

Tim Fink, AFT policy director, says the recommendations are just a starting point. 

Fink adds, “We look forward to working with the Biden Administration and the new Congress to achieve lasting solutions.”

(Story Courtesy of NAFB News Service)