White House and Department of Agriculture Announce Partnerships With Farmers and Ranchers to Address

On April 23, 2015, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced what the Obama Administration has called a "comprehensive approach to partner with agricultural producers to address the threat of climate change."

The program addresses "voluntary, incentive-based conservation, forestry, and energy programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration and expand renewable energy production in the agricultural and forestry sectors."

One of the goals of the initiative is to "build resilience in agricultural and forest systems." The program will address soil health, nitrogen, livestock, conservation of sensitive lands, grazing and pasture lands, private forest growth and retention, federal forest stewardship, the promotion of wood products, urban forests, energy generation and efficiency.

To enhance agricultural resilience, careful consideration and study of the Raising Fields project should be accomplished. Pictured above is the Raising Fields Concept+, which is designed to enhance crop growth in the era of swelling oceans, more severe weather events and increased temperatures.

To read more about the partnership program, click here.