Climate Adaptation
USDA Unveils Program to Reduce Environmental Impact of Farms
- Joins public debate on agriculture’s role in global warming
- Department criticized for suppressing climate change research
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, whose department has been criticized for suppressing research on climate change, announced an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of American farming.
Perdue emphasized voluntary conservation incentives and efficiency improvements rather than regulation as he joins major farm groups in seeking to shape the public debate on agriculture and climate change. Twenty-one farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council announced a coalition Wednesday on environmental sustainability.