As a regenerative rancher and farmer, I’ve seen the value of USDA and the National Resources Conservation Service firsthand, both on my farm and ranch and on others across the nation. I’m an advocate for the services that the agencies provide, from the local all the way to the federal level. 

 In 2024, as we meet that unprecedented interest and funding head-on, the name of the game for the agency is acceleration—namely, ensuring that they can scale their entire process, from communications about climate-smart programs to growers, to technical assistance and to enrollment into current programs and even establishment of Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) projects. In short, this year is big for USDA-NRCS.

 At the 2024 Trust In Food Symposium, I gathered NRCS leaders to discuss what that acceleration looks like and what steps they are putting into place now that make the future of conservation agriculture a place we want to be driving toward.

We were joined by NRCS Regional Conservationist for the Central Region Curtis Elke, himself a farmer in North Dakota. Elke echoed much the same sentiment that America’s Conservation Ag Movement partners heard from USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie this past summer in Washington, D.C. – that the agency needs collaboration from the private sector in order to meet this historic moment for conservation agriculture.

“Our agency has received over $20 billion—so, a lot of money and now we're working with a lot of partners like you all in trying to get that money on the ground where it'll be put to good use, not just short term, but long term as well,” Elke told the audience of 100+ value chain sustainability professionals. “There's also an additional over $3 billion in the Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program that's being used out there. So, there are so many opportunities right now to get engaged with NRCS and our partners. We value all of our partners and I know many in this room are our partners.”

More so than ever before in my career, I am encouraged by what I see coming out of USDA and NRCS. Their innovation, collaboration with the private sector and forward-thinking attitudes are what we need to stand alongside the boots on the ground that are accelerating conservation agriculture and ensuring a sustainable future for our industry. 

I believe that Elke said it best in his remarks.

“We can't get it done alone. We are stronger together.”

Read more about our panel with USDA and NRCS officials for additional insights into the challenges and excitement that this historic time has brought for the agency. 

Long Live the Soil,

Jimmy Emmons

Senior Vice President of Climate-Smart Programs

Realizing that mitigating agriculture’s climate impact is too much for any one organization to tackle alone, the sustainability community is rallying around meaningful collaborations and partnerships to help get more conservation on the ground. Late last year, the annual 2023 Sustainable Agriculture Summit, sponsored by Field to Market, brought strategic partnerships into focus with its theme Scaling Collective Impact: Collaborating to Accelerate Agricultural Sustainability. 

During the conference, Trust In Beef partner U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) brought together a panel to discuss both the power and limitations of collaboration in this seminal moment for conservation agriculture, specifically through case studies told by various members of the beef value chain. 

Jamie Sears Rawlings shares insights from the panel, including what panelists agree is key to accelerating progress in conservation agriculture.

The United Sorghum Checkoff Program and National Sorghum Producers hail sorghum as “The Resource Conserving Crop” because of a myriad of benefits that the crop provides, both for agronomic conservation practices and for biodiversity. 

For John Duff and his team of sorghum advocates, these benefits are being used to develop pathways for new opportunities for the crop that span agriculture’s value chain.  

America’s Conservation Ag Movement (ACAM) talked with Duff about the potential he sees for the crop and its role in building a more sustainable future for agriculture. Jamie Sears Rawlings brings insights about the history and future of sorghum.