What is the Agriculture Innovation Agenda?
The USDA seeks to stimulate agriculture innovations that by 2050 will (1) increase agricultural production by 40%, and (2) reduce the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture by half. Other benchmarks include:

• Reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2030
• Build landscape resiliency by investing in active forest management and forest restoration through increased Shared Stewardship Agreements with states
• Enhance carbon sequestration through soil health and forestry, capitalize on innovative technologies and practices to achieve net reduction of the agricultural sector’s current carbon footprint by 2050
• Improve water quality; reduce nutrient loss by 30% nationally by 2050

In the recent comment by Society for Range Management, it makes an excellent point that the USDA proposal neglects consideration of “the contributions of rangelands to agriculture production in the U.S. Native rangelands cover nearly one third of the total land area of the U.S. and are a major source of forage for livestock production in the western U.S.”  If truly the objective by 2050 is to increase agricultural production by 40% and reduce the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture by half, then rangelands must be considered.  USDA must build “landscape resiliency by investing in active forest management and forest restoration through increased Shared Stewardship Agreements with states,” and build landscape resiliency by investing in active rangeland management and, as applicable or needed, rangeland restoration through increased Shared Stewardship Agreements with Permittees dependent upon federal land use and with the applicable States. 

How to Submit Comments?

1. Register your comments using the Federal eRulemaking Portal
2. Cite the proposed Agriculture Innovation Agenda
3. Submit written comments by August 1, 2020

Sources:
Society for Range Management Comments
USDA Press Release
Agriculture Innovation USDA white paper

Authored by: Valley Urricelqui

Reno Office summer intern, Valley Urricelqui is a Beef Ambassador. A “Beef Ambassador” promotes and helps shine a brighter light on the Beef Industry. A Beef Ambassador is a knowledgeable public figure of the Beef Industry that informs the public of the health benefits of beef as well as helps to gain support throughout the community.

In California, the Beef Ambassador program invites those across the state of California to compete and showcase their knowledge as an advocate for the beef industry for the coming year. Valley earned her place at the state competition as the 2018-2019 Shasta County Beef Ambassador. Contestants competed in four main events, including a mock interview, mock consumer demonstration, issue response and social media presence. These categories aim to evaluate contestants’ overall knowledge of the beef industry, agricultural issues, marketing, education and animal welfare.

In April 2018, Valley received the title of California State Beef Ambassador representing the North State. In this position she represents the State of California as a voice for the Beef Industry and is helping to spread positivity about the agriculture industry as a whole in efforts to gain more support from the public. Her goal is to present in elementary classrooms to educate our youth about where their food comes from, the hard work and processes necessary for raising livestock and producing food supplies, and the nutritional health benefits our food provides. Making the “farm-to-fork” connection is an important mission for Valley. Being named California Beef Ambassador has been a goal for Valley from a young age, and she aims to educate people within and outside of the agricultural industry.

As a California Beef Ambassador, Valley hopes to serve as a pillar for educating consumers. As a fifth-generation cattle rancher in Northeastern California, her roots run deep. “I want people to understand that you don’t have to have an agricultural background to support agriculture,” she said. “We are a dying breed and it’s more important now than ever for people to understand where their food comes from and that it is safe, wholesome and nutritious.”

As California Beef Ambassador, Valley will travel across the state to represent the beef industry in order to educate people on the nutritional, economic, and environmental benefits of beef. Valley will also take her knowledge and enthusiasm into the classroom and educate youth on the importance of the livestock industry. Her goal is to shine a brighter light on the beef industry.

Already this year Valley has attended the Mid-Year Cattleman’s meeting held in Redding CA, as well as some local county fairs spreading the good word about the beef industry and how to better promote the industry. At the Mid-Year meeting she presented to Cattlewomen on Social Media and how it can be used to promote ranching and farming operations as well as the agriculture industry as a whole. She shared examples as to how we can positively promote agriculture by using hashtags in posts. Valley taught ways for accessing online information more easily.

Today’s youth access social media more than any other age group, with more than 98% using social media on a daily basis. About 30% spend more than six hours a week on social media websites and apps. With these stats being so high it tells the agriculturalists that using social media to spread positive agriculture views is a must!

During her time as Beef Ambassador, Valley wants to attend as many events across the state as possible, and continue to present on matters related to the beef community and the agriculture industry. After this year, Valley plans to run for the National Beef Ambassador Team. If lucky enough to join this team, she will continue to promote the agriculture industry in a positive light across the Nation.

As many know, Oregon is home to some pretty diverse soil types that allows Oregon to grow a vast variety of food and fiber. The climate is varied from western to eastern Oregon that also allows farmers to have some choice in farming methods including irrigation practices.  The never ending issue is water, especially if “mother nature” provides too much or not enough at any given time in the growing cycle.

In Oregon, 2,040,200 acres are used for Field Crops (13.1% according to a 2010 study). Of those 2.04 million acres, 37,000 are used for barley, 30,000 acres are used for corn, 370,000 acres are used for alfalfa hay, and 6,600 are used for hops.  While barley and most grains can be grown without applied irrigation, on dry land, all other commodities generally require applied irrigation.   In 2009, hay (all types) and grass seed were among the top 10 commodities in Oregon according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.  Hay is a feed crop necessary for meat protein production while grass seed is largely used by the landscape industry including golf courses. These two commodities, hay and grass seed, brought in nearly $2 Billion, according to the OSU Extension Service. We use more land on commodity agriculture than any other type of agriculture, it’s no wonder there’s sticker shock when shopping at grocery stores, particularly for organic foods that require more inputs.

You can learn more information about Oregon crops, by visiting the USDA website or by going to the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s website. To keep informed about water use issues and news, subscribe to our blog. 

New studies have shown that a large number of older farmers are concerned with their ability to find a successor who is able to afford to buy their land, thus putting their plans for retirement at risk. Currently, the average age of the American farmer is 58 years old. Only less than 6% of American farmers are 35 years old or younger. With the vast majority of farmers nearing the average American retirement age, it is not surprising that over 60% of farmland is ready to be passed onto the next generation of farmers.

The problem is that the younger generation of farmers is losing the battle of being able to afford the land. According to a recent study by American Farmland Trust (”AFT”), land values are set too high for prospective landowners. This puts the land at risk while the banks, equity firms, and larger corporate farms take advantage of these opportunities to snatch up the land that the younger farmers cannot afford. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) has shown that 2 of the biggest hurdles faced by the next generation of farmers are accessing credit for, and finding affordable farmland. Being bought out by larger corporations, or even just the threat of the possibility, along with stress of qualifying for a loan and finding affordable land, has led to a large number of younger farmers leaving the farming industry.

How Can You Help?

So, how do we help? The USDA and the AFT are working on programs to assist beginning farmers and ranchers enter the field and help pay farmers for the development rights to their land. But there are ways we all can help. Some examples include: buying direct, purchasing produce from farmers’ markets, or joining community supported agriculture programs.  For more information, please see http://civileats.com/2016/08/05/digested-farm-together-now/

El Niño is gracing the West Coast of the United States and water watchers are enjoying relief from the past few years of drought, but the catch-up game may take longer than hopefuls could dream. Reports from the U.S. Climate Prediction Center indicate that wetter weather is forecast for the West Coast through at least November 24th, but may only be enough to recover part of the damage caused by drought. Not only would water storage reservoirs need to be restored to normal, levels of both surface and groundwater would also need to at least approach normalcy for El Niño to solve the West’s water scarcity issues.

Organizations such as the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program are seeking to aid with scarcity issues, whether El Niño proves itself as a force this winter or not. On November 16, 2015, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of $350 million funded through the ACEP to benefit the restoration and protection of working agricultural lands and wetlands. The funding was created by the 2014 Farm Bill to protect critical water resources and wildlife habitats, but is also extended to landowners to help protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation. According to a news release by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, private landowners can use programs like the ACEP to maintain land for farming and ranching purposes. Voluntary easement sales can help landowners engage in the conservation efforts by limiting future development to protect key resources such as water.

The news of ACEP’s funding comes down right alongside a Presidential Memorandum written in early November. The memorandum is addressed to secretaries such as USDA’s Vilsack and specifically directs such programs to, “Avoid and then minimize the harmful effects to land, water, wildlife, and other ecological resources (natural resources) caused by land- or water- disturbing activities, and to ensure that any remaining harmful effects are effectively addressed, consistent with existing mission and legal authorities.” (Western Livestock Journal)

While El Niño may bring hope to the West Coast, efforts from the USDA and ACEP will be needed to aid the long-term protection of farmland, grassland and wetland in the US, as well as the restoration and consistency of water quality and levels.

On August 27, 2015, the USDA unveiled a new plan to help conserve sage grouse habitat, and which many hope will keep the greater sage grouse from being listed under the Endangered Species Act. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vislack announced a four-year plan that will invest $211 Million in conservation funds to help build and preserve sage grouse habitat.

Vislack stated in the press release: “The Sage Grouse Initiative has proven itself as a model for how wildlife and agriculture can coexist and thrive in harmony, and that is why we are announcing steps today that will expand this important initiative throughout the life of the 2014 Farm Bill. I applaud America’s ranchers for their initiative in improving habitats and outcomes for sage grouse and other wildlife, and for their recognition that these efforts are also good for cattle, good for ranching operations, and good for America’s rural economy.”

Earlier this year, the bi-state sage grouse (related to the greater sage grouse) was determined to not require listing under the Endangered Species Act, due in large part to conservation efforts. With further conservation and a collaborative approach, those working in both wildlife and in agriculture can work to keep the  greater sage grouse off the listing as well, and avoid the damaging result such a listing would have on the farming and ranching community.

For the full press release, please visit http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2015/08/0238.xml&contentidonly=true.