Presentation by for the Climate Change and Midwest Agriculture: Impacts, Challenges, & Opportunities workshop held by the USDA Midwest Climate Hub on March 1-2, 2016.

1. USDA BUILDING BLOCKS FOR
CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE
AND FORESTRY
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2. What is Climate-Smart Agriculture and
Forestry?
• Promotes increases in agricultural and forest
productivity and farm and forest incomes;
• Builds greater resilience to climate change for
forest and agricultural systems;
• Reduces and removes greenhouse gas
emissions associated with agriculture, forests,
and land use change; and
• Increases renewable energy production from
farms and forest biomass.
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3. Background
• U.S. Commitment – 26-28% reduction in GHG emissions
below 2005 levels by 2025
• USDA is well-positioned to contribute
• One of the only departments that can both reduce GHG emissions
and store carbon
• Goal dovetails with much of the work that agencies are already
doing (e.g., Soil Health Initiative, forest restoration, climate change
adaptation)
• Secretary’s announcement – April 23 at Michigan State
• Outlined the building blocks
• Established a goal of reducing emissions by 120 MMTCO2e per
year by 2025
• Announced early actions by industry and nonprofit partners
• International Climate Agreement (UNFCCC)
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4. Principles of the USDA Building Blocks
• Voluntary and incentive-based – Building on existing
legislation and our history of “cooperative conservation.”
• Focused on multiple economic and environmental
benefits – Through efficiency improvements, improved
yields, or reduced risks.
• Meet the needs of producers – By focusing on working
farms, ranches, forests, and production systems.
• Assess progress and measure success – Through
quantitative goals and objectives.
• Cooperative and focused on building partnerships –
With industry, farm groups, and conservation
organizations.
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5. Adaptation and Mitigation
• Tied closely together
• Used to frame the
discussion about
climate change
• Need to discuss both
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6. Process
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Identified 10 Building Blocks
Soil Health Private Forest Growth and Retention
Nitrogen Stewardship Stewardship of Federal Forests
Livestock Partnerships Promotion of Wood Products
Conservation of Sensitive Lands Urban Forests
Grazing and Pasture Lands Energy Generation and Efficiency
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Preliminary Data Collection and Proposals
• Relevant programs and authorities
• Technologies and practices
• Metrics for quantifying benefits
• Co-benefits
• Barriers, constraints, and tradeoffs

7. Building Block Goals
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Building Block Goals (by 2025)
Soil Health
Promote soil conservation practices that improve soil organic matter,
reduce emissions from soils and equipment, and promote healthier
soils nationwide
Nitrogen Stewardship
Reduce nitrous oxide emissions and provide cost savings through
application of 4 “Rs”
Livestock Partnerships
Install 500 anaerobic digesters; install impermeable covers on 10%
of dairy cattle and swine operations
Conservation of Sensitive Lands
Enroll 400,000 acres of CRP with high GHG benefits; protect 40,000
acres through easements; transfer expiring CRP acres to permanent
easements
Grazing and Pasture Lands
Establish grazing management plans on an additional 9 M acres, for
a total of 27 M acres
Private Forest Growth and Retention
Through FLP and CFP, protect almost 1 M acres of working
landscapes
Stewardship of Federal Forests Reforest 32,000 acres per year on National Forest System lands
Promotion of Wood Products
Increase the number of building projects supported through technical
assistance from 280 in 2014 to 2,000 in 2025
Urban Forests Plant 100,000 additional trees in urban areas
Energy Generation and Efficiency
Promote renewable energy technologies and improve energy
efficiency through EECLP, REAP, and NOFEI (EQIP), and RHS
programs
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8. Soil Health
Practices and Technologies:
• Conservation tillage and no-till
• Mulching
• Cover crops
• Rotations with perennial forages
• Organic amendments
Authorities and Programs:
• Environmental Quality
Incentives Program
• Conservation Stewardship
Program
• Conservation technical
assistance authorities
• Research authorities
Agencies:
• NRCS
• ARS
• NIFA
Expected Benefits:
• Increase soil organic carbon
• Improve water holding capacity
and retention
• Optimize nutrient inputs for
improved soil health
• Reduce input costs
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9. Nitrogen Stewardship
Practices and Technologies:
• Apply four R nutrient
management principles:
• Right time
• Right placement
• Right source, and
• Right rate
Authorities and Programs:
• Environmental Quality
Incentives Program
• Conservation Stewardship
Program
• Conservation technical
assistance authorities
• Research authorities
Agencies:
• NRCS
• ARS
• NIFA
Expected Benefits:
• Reduce nitrous oxide emissions
and provide cost savings
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10. Livestock Partnerships
Technologies and Practices:
• Anaerobic digesters
• Lagoon and waste storage covers with flaring
• Enhanced solid separation
Authorities and Programs:
• 2014 Farm Bill. Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Rural Energy for
America Program. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program
Agencies:
• NRCS, RD, RUS, ARS, and NIFA
Expected Benefits:
• Install 500 anaerobic digesters by 2025
• Cover lagoons and waste storage ponds and structures, and flare methane from
10 percent of 9 million dairy cattle and 110 million market swine
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11. Conservation of Sensitive Lands
Technologies and Practices:
• Targeting areas with large
greenhouse gas benefits for
conservation
• Riparian buffers
• Wetlands
• Currently cultivated organic-rich
soils
Authorities and Programs:
• Conservation Reserve Program
• Agricultural Conservation
Easements Program
• State/Private Easements
Agencies:
• FSA / NRCS / NIFA/ Partners
Expected Benefits:
• 400,000 targeted acres in CRP
• 40,000 acres of targeted
easements
Constraints:
• CRP is fully subscribed at the
statutory maximum of 24 million
acres. This means that for any
new land to be enrolled, land
must leave the program.
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12. Grazing and Pasture Land
Practices and Technologies:
• Properly managing grazing
livestock
• Prescribed Grazing
Authorities and Programs:
• EQIP
• Conservation Technical
Assistance
• Conservation Reserve
Program
Agencies:
• NRCS
• FSA
Expected Benefits:
• An additional 9 million
acres of prescribed
grazing
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13. Private Forest Growth and Retention
Technologies and Practices:
• Protect environmentally important forestland threatened by
conversion to non-forest use by acquiring conservation
easements or fee interest in lands
Authorities and programs:
• Forest Legacy Program (FLP)
• Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program
(CFP)
• Forest Stewardship Program (FSP)
Expected Benefits:
• Protect an additional 995,000 acres
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14. Stewardship of Federal Forests
Technologies and Practices:
• Reforest after stand-replacing wildfire, insects & disease, or other natural
disturbance
• Restore federal lands to make them more resilient to disturbance
Authorities and Programs:
• Organic Administration Act
• Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960
• National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
• Endangered Species Act of 1973
• Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of
1974, as amended by National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976
Expected Benefits:
• Reforest 32,000 post-disturbance acres per year.
• Treat 2.7 million acres of National Forest System lands annually to
sustain or restore watershed function and resilience.
• Treat 1.4 million acres of high priority fuels in the Wildland Urban
Interface on NFS lands annually.
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15. Promotion of Wood Products
Technologies and Practices:
• Increase the number of low-rise buildings using wood
products as building materials.
Authorities and Programs:
• Cooperative Forestry
Expected Benefits:
• Increase the number of building projects supported
through technical assistance from 280 in 2014 to 2,000 in
2025
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16. Urban Forests
Technologies and Practices
• Encourage homeowners to plant trees in energy saving
locations around their homes
Authorities and Programs
• Urban & Community Forestry
Expected Benefits
• Plant an average of 10,000 additional trees in urban areas
per year through 2025
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17. Energy Generation and Efficiency
Technologies and Practices
• Loans and loan guarantees to eligible borrowers to furnish and improve electric service
systems in rural areas
• Energy efficiency improvements
• Renewable energy generation
Authorities and Programs
• Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 901 et. Seq.
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program (EECLP)
• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program – National On-Farm Energy Initiative
Agencies
• Rural Utility Service
• Rural Business-Cooperative Service
• Rural Housing Service
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
Expected Benefits:
• Reduce electricity demand from rural areas through efficiency improvements
• Improve efficiency of existing energy generation facilities
• Install new renewable energy on farms and in rural areas
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18. Partnerships
• Field to Market – Update farm-level sustainability metrics
and enroll 50 M acres in Field to Market program
• The Fertilizer Institute – Provide up to $6 M to improve
nutrient stewardship
• The Nature Conservancy – Enroll 2,000 acres to reforest
marginal cropland in the Lower Mississippi Valley
• Equilibrium Capital Group – Accelerate the development
and growth of bio-digesters and bio-gas facilities
• Walmart, United Suppliers, and EDF – Enroll 10 M acres
in US’s SUSTAIN program to improve nutrient
management
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19. Partnerships (cont.)
• The Arbor Day Foundation – Work with 19 partners in 17
states and DC to plant 40,000 trees in urban areas
• Green Diamond Resource Company and Forest Policy
Forum – Implement a set of principles to ensure forest
sector can help mitigate climate change
• American Forest Foundation – New partnership with
USFS to engage woodland owners in wildfire mitigation
• Trust for Public Land and Forest Climate Working Group –
Implement a toolkit that helps forestland owners estimate
the carbon benefit of their practices and provides models
of policies that can improve forest carbon
• Lyme Timber Company – List 46,500 acres of FL
timberland with the California Air Resources Board
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20. Next Steps – Implementation Plans
• Actions with direct
GHG and carbon
benefits
• Policy and guidance
• Outreach and training
• Partnerships
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21. Next Steps – Metrics
• Two purposes
• Do a better job of highlighting
what we are already doing
• Track progress toward the
goals that are laid out here
• Two parts
• Practice and technology data
• Greenhouse gas calculations
• Tracking both direct
impacts of USDA actions
and indirect effects of
practice and technology
diffusion
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22. Climate Hub Workshops
• Implement the
building blocks on
the ground
• Account for regional
differences and
priorities
• Tools, programs, and
partnerships at the
local and regional
level
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23. Discussion and Questions?
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24. Contact
Joel Larson
Climate Change Program Office
jlarson@oce.usda.gov
202-401-0497
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