Farmers and ranchers are dedicated to taking action on mitigating and adapting to climate change, and they’re already working hard to do so. Yet with everything going on in the world today from supply chain disruptions and inflation to global conflict, it’s easy to put climate change on a shelf and think “we’ll worry about that later.”
But we can’t do that. We must act now.
Agriculture is doing just that: leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. It’s time to accelerate our action.
As farmers, we’re committed to preserving the natural environment. It’s the foundation — literally and figuratively — of our success in feeding our families and securing the food system. That’s why so many farmers and ranchers are already integrating climate-smart practices. And we can do much more.
The challenge is a lack of coordination. Scientists around the world are developing new climate-smart solutions, but the work is largely fragmented and focuses on specific geographies, crops, production practices or farm types. Meanwhile, farmers and ranchers are experiencing climate impacts like increasing drought, flooding, temperature extremes and wildfires. While we are responding with existing tools to protect our crops, farms and livelihoods, we can do more with increased scientific research, support and coordination.
AgMission™ is the effort to lead this collaboration. The initiative was founded by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action and the World Farmers Organisation to connect farmers, ranchers, scientists, funders and other stakeholders across food systems to accelerate collaboration and innovation on effective climate-smart practices and strategies. AgMission ultimately helps put more tools in the hands of the farmers and ranchers who will continue to lead efforts to mitigate climate change.
The AgMission partnership has attracted support from some of the world’s most prominent food companies and environmental groups. These companies and organizations recognize the massive challenge of climate change, as well as agriculture’s natural position as a solution. Their support is driving AgMission forward to help all of us make a real difference with climate change. And it all starts on the farm.
AgMission aims to integrate, create and share knowledge globally to help us make smart, informed decisions tailored for our operations. When we all commit to co-building and adopting climate-smart practices, we create new opportunities for our generation and future generations of farmers and ranchers.
AgMission’s existing financial commitments are a great start. But they’re just a start. We need leading organizations in agriculture to step up and commit to climate change mitigation and adaptation. And we need farmers and ranchers to commit themselves to being part of the solution.
We depend on Mother Nature, and it’s time she starts being able to depend on us. Climate-smart action faces a lot of headwinds today around the world, but agriculture is poised to take the lead and continue to show the world we can make a difference in addressing climate change now. The time for action — from corporate board rooms and halls of Congress to the farms and ranches around the world — is now. Find out more about AgMission, and get involved today.
Kip Tom is CEO of Tom Farms LLC in Leesburg, Indiana. In addition to his activity in the Indiana agribusiness community for four decades, he served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture and chief of the U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome from 2019 to 2021.
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