Dec. 5, 2019

Solutions from the Land (SfL) Steering Committee member Ray Gaesser, an Iowa corn and soybean producer, and SfL President Ernie Shea are set to appear Saturday on a panel at the global climate talks in Madrid, Spain, where they will discuss the role farmers are playing in addressing climate change.

Gaesser, chairman of the American Soybean Association, and Shea, president of Solutions from the Land, will share with those attending the U.S. Climate Action forum the climate smart agriculture (CSA) initiatives being undertaken at the state and national level.

The panel discussion will recognize that American farmers are innovators, continually adapting to the increasing challenges of climate change impacts, like droughts, floods, record high temperatures, and wildfires.

They are also uniquely positioned to lead on climate solutions by providing renewable energy, keeping our water clean, storing carbon in the ground, and feeding a growing population.

The panel discussion aims to feature voices of those working with farmers in the United States and elsewhere on the role the agriculture sector is playing in addressing climate change.

Gaesser and Shea will share the work being done by SfL to promote the role of CSA in statewide projects around the United States. Efforts in Ohio, Florida and Iowa, among others, aim to ensure farms, ranches and forestlands sustainably produce food, feed, fiber, energy and ecosystems services; enhance climate resilience; reduce and sequester greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute high value solutions to sustainable development goals.

The panel will also feature Tim Dwight, Iowa Solar Energy Trade Association; Noah Walker, Indigo Carbon; and Lauren Wolahan, who is with the panel’s host, Climate Nexus, a non-profit organization formed to promote solutions to climate change.

The farmer panel is among a series being held in Madrid Saturday by the U.S. Climate Action Center, an alliance of U.S. cities, states, tribes, businesses, faith groups, universities and others operating under the premise “We Are Still In” and intent on preserving a U.S. role in finding solutions to the growing threat of a changing climate.

The farmer panel will be available via video at https://m.facebook.com/US-Climate-Action-Center-at-COP25-2238274516451669/.

For more information, contact SfL President Ernie Shea at 410-952-0123 or clickHERE to learn more about Solutions from the Land.