It’s nothing new for America’s farmers and ranchers to worry about the weather. Will there be enough rain for the crops and grazing lands? Will it stop at planting and harvest time, and before our creeks and rivers jump their banks?
What is new is that farmers and ranchers should be very concerned about the long-term changes in our climate. The science is clear: Changes in the climate will affect growing seasons, bring on more intense storms and potentially make it more difficult for farmers and ranchers to make ends meet.
While we can’t do much about the short-term weather forecast, we can – and we must – act now to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, which cause climate change.
This issue is too important for agriculture and forestry to sit on the sidelines. The opportunities it offers farmers and ranchers through a carbon market and a new energy economy are too promising to delay. Because, when we address climate change, we will not only fend off a looming climate crisis, but we will revitalize rural America.
Read the rest of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s piece here.
