Farm groups say protecting tropical forests could add $200 billion to U.S. farm income

Farm groups say protecting tropical forests could add $200 billion to U.S. farm income

By Jon H. Harsch

© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.

Washington, May 26 – A coalition of farm, forest product and labor organizations released a report Wednesday forecasting over $200 billion in benefits to U.S. agriculture from reducing tropical deforestation.

The report – “Farms Here, Forests There: Tropical Deforestation and U.S. Competitiveness in Agriculture and Timber – concludes that:

• “Destruction of the world’s tropical forests by overseas timber, agriculture, and cattle operations has led to a dramatic expansion in production of commodities that compete directly with U.S. products.”
• “About 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest are destroyed every year – mostly in the tropics. This deforestation has allowed large-scale, low-cost expansion of timber, cattle and agricultural production, and has also caused damage to the environment and forest communities.”
• “Much of this timber and agricultural expansion has come through practices that do not meet U.S. industry standards for sustainability, labor practices, and basic human rights, providing these overseas agricultural operations a competitive advantage over U.S. producers.”

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson commented in releasing the report that “American farmers and ranchers know the importance of being good stewards of the land. With family farmers fighting to hold onto their land, we’ve got to make sure we’re not being undercut by irresponsible practices like deforestation.”

Recently back from visiting Brazil, Fred Yoder of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, immediate past president of the National Corn Growers Association, explained that “If we could just stop the deforestation and what’s happening in places like Brazil, U.S. agriculture revenue would go up by as much as $270 billion between 2012 and 2030. That’s direct benefits from increased production of soybeans, beef, timber, palm oil. Overall, if you look at just individual states, states like Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Nebraska, each state would stand to gain between $2.6 and $6.8 billion in increased revenue.”

The report commissioned by NFU and Avoided Deforestation Partners (ADP) calls for including substantial incentives in U.S. climate legislation to encourage countries like Brazil to preserve their tropical forests rather than allow continuing deforestation.

In a teleconference to announce the report, Johnson, Yoder, American Forest and Paper Association  President Donna Harman, and United Steelworkers Strategic Issues Representative Keith Romig (representing forest products workers) joined in explaining that the U.S. stands to benefit directly from tropical forest protection. ADP Founder Jeff Horowitz says “Protecting rainforests is a win-win-win for the climate, for American consumers, and for farmers and ranchers.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• Ending deforestation through incentives in U.S. and international climate policy would boost U.S. agricultural revenue by $190 to $270 billion between 2012 and 2030. This increase includes $141 to $221 billion in direct benefits from increased production of soybeans, beef, timber, palm oil and palm oil substitutes.
• Including affordable tropical forest offsets in U.S. climate legislation would save US agriculture and related industries an estimated $49 billion in compliance costs due to lower energy and fertilizer costs.
• U.S. timber producers would see increases in revenue of $36 billion to $60 billion by 2030, with the biggest gains in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina.
• Soybean-producing states like Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Nebraska each stand to gain between $2.6 and $6.8 billion in increased revenue if tropical deforestation is halted by 2030.
• Oilseed-producing states across the US (including Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and the Dakotas) stand to gain a total of $18-40 billion by 2030 if deforestation is halted.
• The U.S. beef industry would gain between $53 and $68 billion by 2030 if deforestation is halted, with the largest increases in revenue going to Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

To read the 56-page report, “Farms Here, Forests There: Tropical Deforestation and U.S. Competitiveness in Agriculture and Timber,” along with state-by-state and industry-by-industry factsheets, go to: www.adpartners.org/agriculture

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