Ankeny, Iowa, USA
April 2, 2013

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) supports recommendations released today by agriculture and forestry experts on how both industries can overcome climate-related challenges.

The 25x25 Alliance, a Maryland-based nonprofit organization with a goal of farms, forests and ranches providing 25 percent of all the energy consumed in the country by 2025, issued a study on climate change. The report entitled “Agriculture and Forestry in a Changing Climate: Adaptation Recommendations” offers various pathways in the areas of research, production systems, risk management, decision tools and outreach for building a more resilient agriculture and forestry system.

The Alliance Adaptation Work group, a collaboration of more than 40 leaders from the agriculture, forestry, business, academic, conservation and government sectors, spent the past year exploring how climate change affects farming and forestry interests. The report --- several ISA members and staff were instrumental in its creation --- addresses opportunities, challenges and solutions.

“The adaptation report focuses mostly on what agriculture is going to deal with in a changing climate,” said Roger Wolf, ISA director of environmental services and a group member. “We believe that finding ways to adapt, and thinking about the tools and technologies and information we need to enable us to adapt, is one that resonates with agriculture.”

The Adaptation Working Group’s five strategies, along with recommendations in each area to help farmers and others adapt to climate change, are as follows:

• Research --- Provide support for more accurate climate forecasting, examine barriers facing farmers and develop new crop management tools, among other things.
• Production Systems and Practices --- Implement conservation practices to main productive land, adopt new production practices to address climate change, develop additional value for ecosystem services and build new and upgrade existing infrastructure to meet climate challenges.
• Risk Management --- Maintain a robust federal crop insurance program, ensure there are adequate disaster relief programs and provide multiple avenues for funding adaptation measures.
• Planning and Decision Support Tools --- A few recommendations include develop new tools to allow producers to use and access information in the future, incorporate climate change information and data into existing tools and become involved in local- and watershed-level planning with all relevant stakeholders.
• Communications, Outreach and Education --- Encourage producer-to-producer dialogues, communications between scientists, policymakers and agricultural organizations, address the challenges of reaching landowners and involve producers and trade associations in research decisions and implementation.

"… With forethought, leadership and the right priorities, our nation’s agriculture and forestry systems can not only meet future challenges, but thrive in the midst of them,” the report said.

To learn more about the 25x25 Alliance, go to www.25x25.org. To read the entire study, click projects on the left hand side of the screen and then adaptation. To learn more about ISA, visit its Web site at www.iasoybeans.com.

Website: http://www.iasoybeans.com

Published: April 2, 2013