A new report released last week by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change concluded that federal climate change legislation that includes farmers and ranchers will benefit agriculture economically and keep down the cost of cutting carbon and greenhouse gasses for everyone.  This backs up the recent Informa Economics study that AFT commissioned with the National Association of Wheat Growers.  AFT’s Agriculture & Environment team continues to work with agricultural leaders to ensure that farmers and ranchers are included in our nation’s efforts to combat climate change and provide clean energy. California’s Williamson Act has been one of the state’s most cost-effective land conservation programs but has recently faced severe cuts.  In a piece for the Times Standard, State Senator Patricia Wiggins discusses the proposed California Farmland Conservancy Program Act.  If approved, the legislation would establish the Farm, Ranch and Watershed Fund to provide relief funding for critical farm and ranch land in the Golden State. A unique partnership between agriculture and the military is working to protect farmland in the eastern region of North Carolina. The Military Growth Task Force and the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund have teamed up to create farmland protection programs in the region.  In fact, AFT has worked with the DOD to develop the report, Working to Preserve Farm, Forest and Ranch Lands: A Guide for Military Installations. The nation’s longest-running family farm is up for sale, reports The Boston Globe. The 134-acre farm in continuous operation since 1632, has slowly seen development encircle the property. Although the farm may no longer belong to the Tuttle family, it will remain in agriculture since it is protected by a conservation easement that prohibits development of the property.