Delegates to the National Farmers Union convention in the state of Washington reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to addressing climate change.
However, they’ve said no to a proposal asking the organization to get involved with the Green New Deal supported by many Democrats in Congress.
A DTN report says the Farmers Union has long supported addressing climate change.
The most Democratic-leaning of the nation’s farm organizations feels that carbon sequestration and other similar farm practices offer opportunities for the nation’s farmers.
The NFU has long been the most supportive of the major farm groups when it comes to addressing climate change.
However, the group’s rejection of the Green New Deal shows just how much backlash it has created in rural America.
The Farmers Union came out with a resolution stating that “The Green New Deal is a bold proposal to transform our society, but as it stands, the resolution appeals to an urban voter base and does not properly take into account the essential contributions of rural America.”
Frank MItloehner, an animal science professor at the University of California-Davis, says, “People from urban areas are leading the discussion.
They’re telling farmers what sustainable is, and they’re telling farmers how to farm despite never having had farm dirt on their hands.”
He says despite the fact that they’ve most have never been on farms, they’re leading the discussion and it’s driving him “insane.”
