RFA to NASS: County-Level Data Critical to Climate-Smart Ag, Biofuel Programs

Apr 16, 2024

The Renewable Fuels Association today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service to reconsider its plan to stop reporting farm acreage, yield and production estimates at the county level.

“With the rapid emergence of state and federal climate policies that will compel ethanol producers to carefully track certain feedstock characteristics, the availability of robust county-level data has never been more important,” RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper writes.

In particular, with several federal agencies working to develop a version of the GREET life cycle analysis model that will be used to estimate sustainable aviation fuel emissions, the availability of granular, county-level data is crucial. Cooper writes, “It is anticipated that climate-smart farming practices will be recognized in this version of GREET. Moreover, some expect that county-level, or even farm-specific, carbon intensity scoring could be allowed under the IRA tax credit programs at some point in the future. For the USDA to discontinue reporting of high-resolution, annual crop yield data at a time when those data are needed for incorporation into the GREET model array and/or for use in the verification of farm-specific estimates would be regrettable.”

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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.