Changing and increasingly unpredictable climatic conditions and more frequent extreme weather events have not gone unnoticed by farmers, ranchers and foresters all across North America.
While the causes of climate change are today still widely debated within the agriculture sector, there is growing interest in participating in conversations about how to adapt to the changing climatic conditions and weather events producers are witnessing and experiencing. This is evidenced by the more than two dozen organizations, including notably the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, Western Growers Association, United Soybean Board, and the Ontario Farmers Federation, that have signed on as founding partners and participants in the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (NACSAA).
Collaborating supporting partners include, among others, the American Farmland Trust, Conservation Technology Information Center, National Association of Conservation Districts, National Council for Agricultural Education, National FFA Foundation, National Institute of Animal Agriculture, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy and agribusiness funding partners.
The overarching goal of the NACSAA is to improve resiliency, adapt and mitigate the current and future risks of changing climatic conditions. Towards this end the founding partners have endorsed the following objectives for the Alliance:
- Inform agricultural and forestry leaders on the potential impacts of climate change in ways relevant to their daily lives;
- Equip producers with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed decisions and manage new risks under changing conditions;
- Mobilize thought leaders to advocate for needed changes in land use practices, research, education and policy; and
- Inspire agricultural and forest sector leaders to become leaders in the broader discussion of climate change, including adaptation and mitigation.
Solutions from the Land (SfL) will function as the fiduciary agent for the Alliance and will serve as the NACSAA Secretariat. The Alliance Chair is Fred Yoder, a corn, soybean and wheat producer from Plain City, Ohio. Fred is a past President of the National Corn Growers Association and a member of the SfL Board of Directors.
A Steering Committee is currently being assembled to further support the work of the Alliance.
Click here for a list of the founding partners and participants in the North AmericanClimate Smart Agriculture Alliance
Click here for the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance Formation Plan
