NMPF Applauds USDA Climate-Smart Initiative, Supply Chain Assistance

Sep 30, 2021

The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents U.S. dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, commended the Biden Administration and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for key steps announced today to assist U.S. farmers and consumers with current challenges while charting a course toward a long-term, climate-smart future for all of agriculture.

“NMPF applauds Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his team at USDA for its climate smart agriculture initiative announced today,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “By aiding the finance of climate-smart farming practices and the marketing of climate-smart commodities, this initiative will ensure even greater U.S. leadership in sustainably feeding the planet. It also will help keep U.S. farmers competitive in a global market that’s increasingly sensitive to agriculture’s effects on climate.

“U.S. dairy farmers have been and will remain leaders in sustainable agricultural production, supporting innovative use of technology and committing to a carbon-neutral future through its forward-thinking Net Zero Initiative. The recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit showed how U.S. government leadership can foster productive dialogue on agriculture and the world’s future climate. Dairy supports these efforts and looks forward to working with USDA and other agencies on crucial climate initiatives.”

Congress is currently considering additional conservation funding with an emphasis on climate smart practices. NMPF led a broad coalition last month supporting new investments in conservation programs targeted toward climate smart practices that can yield meaningful environmental benefits.

Mulhern also praised USDA’s move to provide $500 million in relief from agricultural market disruptions, such as backlogs at U.S. ports that are impeding the flow of dairy products to the consumers worldwide who are demanding them.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.