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Clean Energy & Climate Bill a Boon to Virginia Farmers

Friday, September 11, 2009

Posted by The Green Miles

Public News Service reports Virginia farmers stand to reap the benefits of Congressional action on clean energy & climate change:
Virginia's farmers may get a boost for burying carbon in the soil thanks to new federal legislation that's currently before Congress. Federal lawmakers returned this week to consider a bill that, for the first time, addresses climate change. Farmer's groups, such as the National Farmers Union and the American Farmland Trust support the bill, in part because the unpredictable weather conditions that are likely to occur due to climate change will greatly affect farming. In addition, the bill contains provisions to pay farmers for working to lower their environmental impact.

Nathan Lott, of the Virginia Conservation Network, says farmers have heard that the legislation may increase their fuel, oil and fertilizer costs, but he says those increases will be offset by new types of payments.

"Farmers might actually have a new revenue stream to be paid for helping to keep carbon out of the atmosphere; to put the black back into the soil, as they say."
And in potentially more good news for the Chesapeake Bay, many of the same farming practices that will protect Virginia's climate will also protect its waters. Rewarding farmers for using sustainable practices instead of just plopping tons of commercial fertilizers on their fields would help reduce harmful runoff.