MINNEAPOLIS (DTN) -- A former agricultural adviser to the Environmental Protection Agency in the Biden administration raised concerns Wednesday about President-elect Donald Trump's plans to roll back climate initiatives, but expressed optimism that the private sector will continue to focus on lowering agriculture's carbon footprint.
Rod Snyder, who recently announced the start of his own environmental consulting firm, Junction Strategies, was the keynote speaker at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit. Snyder once headed one of the main organizations that created the summit ten years ago, Field to Market. Reflecting on how much the field of agricultural sustainability has grown in the past decade, the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Minneapolis was sold out this year.
In his comments, Snyder reflected on how far the conversation about agricultural sustainability has grown over the past decade, evolving from "niche to norm," he said. The number of food and ag companies that have committed to climate and sustainability goals has grown exponentially.
"Organizations that were resistant to engaging in the early days are now leading the way," Snyder said. "And conversations that were once relegated to think-tanks and environmental NGOs are now happening in local ag co-op meetings and coffee shops across rural America. There is now broad recognition of the role agriculture can play in delivering climate and sustainability solutions, as well as the enormous risk to our food system if we fail to do so."
Still, agriculture globally will continue struggling to keep pace with the productivity needed to meet food demand around the world. Snyder pointed to the most recent Global Agricultural Productivity Report from Virginia Tech University, which shows a widening gap between current agricultural productivity growth and what is needed to meet the world's increasing demand for food, feed and fiber. The 2024 GAP report stressed the need for greater public and private investments in research and development, as well as strategies to address farmer adoption of tools and technologies to accelerate sustainable growth.
"Unfortunately, these challenges are exacerbated by the intensifying effects of climate change, which threaten to erode progress made in recent decades," Snyder said.
Bringing more land into production to meet growing food demand is the leading driver of habitat loss and the decline in biodiversity around the globe. Agriculture is the largest user of fresh water, accounting for 70% of withdrawals worldwide, Snyder noted.
"These statistics are not meant as an indictment," he said. "Feeding the world is a moral imperative and a critical use of natural resources. However, it reinforces the urgency of our global food system finding ways to do more with less."
Discussing the election, Snyder noted "the strong likelihood" that Trump will again withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. Trump pulled out of the Paris agreement in his first few days in office in 2017 and his new team is already discussing aggressively ramping up fossil fuel production. Pulling out of the Paris agreement will again have negative repercussions, Snyder said.
"Unfortunately, this decision would undermine our global climate leadership and would disadvantage American innovation in the emerging low-carbon economy," Snyder said.
Trump's plans look to roll back or freeze nearly $400 billion in investments in clean energy from the Inflation Reduction Act, which Snyder said is "the largest climate and clean energy investment in our nation's history" to lower carbon emissions and spur innovation. That includes $19.5 billion in climate-smart ag funding through existing USDA conservation programs. Also, it includes the first ever carbon intensity-based tax credit for the production of clean transportation fuels -- the 45Z tax credit, Snyder noted.
"This represents a strong financial incentive for reducing the carbon intensity score of agricultural feedstocks in biofuel production, including the emerging market for Sustainable Aviation Fuel," he said.
USDA also invested $3.1 billion in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities to reduce greenhouse gases by as much as 60 million metric tons across 140 projects nationally.
Pointing to the competition among U.S. companies and organizations when those grants were proposed, Snyder said, "It's also worth noting that USDA received more than 1,000 climate-smart commodity project proposals totaling more than $20 billion, which signifies the level of interest that exists across the food and ag sector for these kinds of public-private partnerships."
While the Trump administration may work to rollback federal climate policies, Snyder said he's talked to a lot of people in the private sector who plan to keep their goals on climate and sustainability.
"I fundamentally believe that the private sector will remain committed to its climate and sustainability goals regardless of electoral outcomes," he said. "However, our progress is stronger when the public sector is working in concert. In the coming years, the stakeholders in this room should help to depoliticize voluntary climate and sustainability efforts while reinforcing the importance of bipartisan action."
Also, despite the incoming administration's plans to cut climate initiatives, Snyder said USDA programs in areas such as conservation and crop insurance will continue to support farmers going forward.
"I don't think the commitment to conservation programs is going to go away. Those will continue to exist."
Snyder stressed the need to increase incentives for farmers and ranchers to participate in private-sector programs because their actions ultimately determine the pace of progress.
"Farmers are price takers, not makers -- meaning they have little control over the value of what they produce, not to mention the cost of their inputs," Snyder said. "On average, farmers receive just 15 cents of every dollar that consumers spend on food. This is especially a concern today as commodity markets are experiencing a prolonged downcycle. It is unreasonable to expect that farmers will shoulder all of the cost and all of the risk of changes that are needed to deliver environmental outcomes."
It will take multiple approaches to work with farmers and ranchers, from voluntary carbon marks, price premiums, technical assistance, cost-share, insurance and loan incentives as well as public and private partnerships to provide the value to farmers that they need, Snyder said.
"Ultimately, food and ag companies will need to determine which mix of incentives and at what price point will help to achieve verifiable environmental outcomes, efficiently and at scale," he said.
Technology will drive that innovation whether it is through genetics, biological inputs or artificial intelligence. Snyder pointed to additives now being marketed to reduce enteric emissions from cattle and spray technology that reduces herbicide applications by as much as 80% as just a few of the technologies that have come to market to improve sustainability.
Snyder pointed to a report released just last week from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA) and the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) on the potential for U.S. agriculture to be carbon negative. The report highlighted that there are more opportunities for farmers and ranchers to sequester carbon and reduce emissions as a low-carbon economy continues to evolve.
"Perhaps more than any other segment of the economy, this is a moment for agriculture to lead the way," he said.
However, Snyder cautioned that public trust in science is declining. If agriculture is to reach its sustainability goals, it will require meeting rigorous standards and demonstrate the value to the public.
"This industry's freedom to operate and to innovate is dependent upon maintaining public trust, not only in science, but also institutions like USDA, EPA, FDA and land-grant universities that conduct the research and govern the use of tools and technologies," Snyder said. "There are warning signs -- cracks in that trust -- that everyone in this room should take seriously and work to address in the coming years."
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
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