Opinion

418 South Second St. Mankato, MN 56001 (800) 657-4665 Vol. XLV ❖ No. 9 24 pages, 1 section plus supplements

Cover photo by Paul Malchow

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Back in the 1970s, Earth Day was in ing “sustainable practices.” Reduced tillits infancy and consisted of a day where age and cover crops will certainly help people would pick up litter and rescue preserve what little topsoil our fields old tires and appliances from our road- have left. Farmers are reporting healthier ways, lakes and rivers. The global day of soils which have an increased capacity to awareness has evolved over the years as retain water. Yet according to a 2017 U.S. more environmental issues come to light Census of Agriculture, 56 million acres of and more scientific data supports those U.S. cropland is tiled and that number is issues. soaring. What exactly are we retaining

In recent years, climate change has LAND MINDS water for? become the focal point of Earth’s environmental concerns. Some will point to By Paul Malchow Crop irrigation and large scale livestock operations are depleting aquifers to a the planet’s past ice age and say the rise of average temperatures is just OPINION point where such operations are no longer allowed in parts of Minnesota. another page in Earth’s ever-evolving Restoring those aquifers is going to aging process. On the other end of the spectrum, take more than some rye grass and radishes. experts claim life is at a tipping point and carbon California’s Great Central Valley is credited with dioxide emissions are destroying the planet. supplying over 25 percent of everything Americans April 22 commemorated the 51st Earth Day and my email account was bursting with news releases eat, and does so with less than a foot of rain per year. Is this sustainable? from a variety of clubs and organizations. Each But agriculture is charged with feeding the world, reassured me they were true stewards of the envi- so do they get an environmental pass? Can farmers ronment. Most made vague claims of “reducing our have it both ways? carbon footprint.” Many came with requests for money. On April 21 the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to expand and renews the

Carbon footprints have received a lot of publicity Conservation Reserve Program “in effort to boost since the Biden Administration moved into enrollment and address climate change.” Washington, D.C. The general consensus is carbon footprints need to be smaller. There does not seem to be any consensus as to how that would actually be accomplished. At a time when field crop markets are reaching eye-popping heights, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program with higher pay-

Energy providers and government entities have ment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted been busy promising to be “carbon neutral” by 20__ focus on the program’s role in climate change miti(pick a year). Gas-burning cars will be a thing of the gation. past by 2035. Electrical power will be self-sustainable by 2040. In a country where — after 250 years — we still have issues with casting a vote, we’re going to get this all figured out in a couple of decades. USDA’s goal is to enroll up to 4 million new acres in CRP by raising rental payment rates and expanding the number of incentivized environmental practices allowed under the program. Electric vehicles are pushed front and center as the sexy cure. They already exist and pose no threat to the way of life of car-crazy Americans. Solar and wind power are leading candidates for generating the electricity required for the vehicle turn-around, but county governments are already placing moratoriums on future solar arrays. To target the program on climate change mitigation, FSA is introducing a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive for CRP general and continuous signups that aims to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ClimateSmart CRP practices include establishment of trees and permanent grasses, development of wildlife habitat, and wetland restoration. And hold on a minute — what will we do with all of this ethanol? Agriculture is wasting little time hopping on the environmental bandwagon by toutSee LAND MINDS, pg. 3 In 2021, CRP is capped at 25 million acres. The cap will gradually increase to 27 million acres by 2023.

Our color this week has us blue...

As farmers well know, mechanical breakdowns never come at a good time. This week it was our turn as press problems prevented us from having as many pages with color as we would like. So if The Land is looking a little drab this week, fear not – we’ll be back to our old selves soon!