Climate Smart Agriculture and Conservation Practices
Climate Smart Agriculture focuses on conservation practices that result in quantifiable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and net increases in carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are produced in agriculture and many other industries. By using climate smart agriculture conservation practices farmers are able to reduce their overall impact on climate change. Climate Smart Agriculture has three main goals increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce emissions.
Visit the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Climate Smart Mitigation Activities page for more information on all the climate smart conservation practices. There are nine Climate Smart Agriculture Mitigation Categories, which include soil health, nitrogen management, grazing and pasture, wetlands, and more. Many of the Climate Smart Agriculture Conservation Practices are already being used to reduce soil erosion and nutrient runoff. For example, the goal of the soil health mitigation category is to reduce emissions and enhance carbon sequestration. Additional benefits of this category include reduced soil erosion, improved water infiltration, increased nutrient cycling, and money saved. This goal is met and benefits are experienced by using conservation practices like cover crops, reduced or no-till, grassed waterways, filter strips, and many others.
Technical and financial assistance is available for Climate Smart Agriculture and Conservation Practices. At the federal level organizations such as NRCS, Farm Service Agency (FSA), and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are able to farmers and landowners with proper installation and management of these practices. Here Pennsylvania farmers and landowners can reach out to their local County Conservation District for help with applying for assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), State Conservation Commission (SCC), and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Additionally, there are numerous non-governmental organizations that provide grants and technical assistance to farmers and landowners.
With the increased use of conservation practices for reducing soil erosion and nutrient runoff, farmers are also able to make an impact on climate change because these practices also reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon sequestration.
