CropLife America joins the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (NACSAA)

CropLife America (CLA) recently announced that it has joined the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (NACSAA), an alliance with the mission to generate dialogue and greater understanding within the agriculture and forestry sectors of the impacts of climate change and the steps they can take to meet the challenges. This three-year initiative, launched on September 23, 2014, will enable farmers, ranchers and foresters to collaborate with industry, academic, government and NGO organizations to improve production resiliency and mitigate climate change risks.

The alliance aims to:
•    Educate agricultural and forestry leaders;
•    Help producers make informed decisions and manage new risks;
•    Mobilize leaders to advocate for beneficial changes in land-use practices, research, education, and policy;
•    Inspire engagement in the broader climate change discussion.

“CLA is pleased to join NACSAA and participate in the alliance’s efforts to assist American agriculture in the face of climate change,” said Jay Vroom, president and CEO at CLA. “We look forward to joining the diverse representation in NACSAA and being part of a meaningful discussion on climate change. The contributions of our crop protection sector already enable farmers practicing conversation tillage using modern herbicides to sequester significant carbon in soil – and the tillage reduction saves 558 million gallons of fuel per year.”

NACSAA will collaborate and interface with the Global Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance. The North American alliance is led by Solutions from the Land (SfL), a non-profit entity focused on land based solutions to global challenges. Ernie Shea, president of SfL and former CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts, noted that “climate change is a real issue for U.S. agriculture and one which we must address. It is the goal of NACSAA to bring the many parties together so that we can hold a productive dialogue and explore ways to adapt, improve resiliency and mitigate present and future risks from changing climatic conditions.”

Keeping soil healthy is one way to lessen climate change that can be overlooked. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has declared 2015 to be the International Year of Soils to bring attention to the importance of soil, including regarding climate change. Through the use of crop protection products and conservation tillage, farmers can keep soil on their farms and also reduce siltation in surface waters.

Other members of the alliance include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, Western Growers Association, American Farmland Trust, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society.