FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: https://www.youngfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screen-Shot-2021-08-17-at-2.19.49-PM-2-1.png, Communications Director, press@youngfarmers.org | View full release and contacts
RELEASE: Young Farmers Supports Federal Policy Action on Climate Change
The National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) applauds Congress for taking steps to mitigate climate change and the devastating impacts it will continue to have on our Nation and its agriculture sector without immediate action. From the announcement of the new House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis to the introduction of the Green New Deal, Young Farmers is encouraged that Congress is addressing the severity of our climate crisis.
“Young farmers, and their communities, are on the frontlines of climate change. Last year alone, farmers and ranchers experienced numerous hurricanes in the Southeast, record-setting rainfall in the Northeast, and scorching drought in the Southwest. These extreme weather events have had devastating effects on independent farms, livestock, and rural communities,” said Lindsey Lusher Shute, Executive Director and co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition.
“Young farmers and ranchers must be at the table for these climate negotiations. Agriculture is often the first industry impacted by severe weather events, and young farmers will bear the brunt of climate change, and the impact of any policies enacted now, for decades to come.”
“Farmers are also the innovators and problem solvers whose work can mitigate climate change and provide solutions to potentially reverse course. As stewards of our natural resources, farmers and ranchers can lessen the most harmful effects of climate change. And by managing agricultural soils, farmers and ranchers can harness carbon from the atmosphere, while also building more fertile and productive soil on their land.”
The Coalition is eager to work with Congress, the Executive Branch, as well as state and local governments, to find policy solutions that ensure farmers and ranchers can better adapt to climate change and mitigate its devastating impacts through carbon sequestration and responsible management of the Nation’s precious agricultural resources.
The National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) is a national advocacy network of young farmers fighting for the future of agriculture. Visit NYFC on the web at youngfarmers.org, and on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
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