I recently had the honor of moderating a panel discussion on climate change at USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum 2010.  There were several interesting presentations that I wanted to share with everyone:

• Brian Murray from Duke University and Chad Hellwinckel from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, delivered presentations on the economics and effects of energy and climate policy on farmers—putting the hopes and fears that farmers have about climate legislation in perspective. You can view their presentations here.
• Tim Searchinger, a research scholar and lecturer at Princeton University, was the third panelist, discussing whether climate security and food security are on a collision course.

While work on clean energy legislation has slowed in Congress, there is still the possibility of action later this year or soon thereafter. The research and discussion presented by these panelists is important to consider as the agriculture sector looks for ways to maximize their access to carbon sequestration markets and other ecosystem markets to “offset” the costs of a cap and trade system. I know this is one area of federal policy that may seem confusing, so I invite you to learn more about what cap and trade is and how agriculture can be involved in providing solutions to one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. You can view the rest of the presentations from the Ag Outlook Conference here. About the author: Dennis Nuxoll is Senior Director of Government Relations for American Farmland Trustbout the author: Dennis Nuxoll is Senior Director of Government Relations for American Farmland Trust