June 28, 2021 | Council for Agricultural Science and Technology—Ames, Iowa

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) has released a new paper, The Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Climate 21 Project Implementation. It is now available for free download. This paper discusses several key topics including nutrient and pest management, animal systems, agricultural technologies, the food supply chain, and carbon markets.

Dr. David Baltensperger, Texas A&M University and chair of this commentary, states that agriculture is central to climate mitigation and adaptation and is a net sequestration sink for carbon dioxide emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. Agriculture can provide 10-20% of the additional sequestration and emissions reductions needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The food supply chain in the United States has been actively partnering with farmers and ranchers to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural operations in the country over the past 15 years. Food supply chains from the field to the plate are complex, with many different arrangements ranging from direct contracts between growers and food brands common in specialty crops, to the large-scale commingling of commodity grains used in food, feed, and fuel that makes traceability of food products back to an individual farm challenging.

Dr. Juan Tricarico, Dairy Management Inc. and an author of this commentary, believes that innovation in economic and social fields is critical to creating favorable environments where adoption of new mitigation practices and technology by farmers and ranchers is incentivized. The desirable goal is to empower farmers and ranchers to incorporate mitigation practices and technology into their operations because they are environmentally and productively advantageous.

The commentary, The Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Climate 21 Project Implementation, is available to download on CAST’s website. The webinar will take place at Noon Central on Tuesday, June 29. Dr. David Baltensperger and a panel of the paper’s authors will share highlights of the publication, followed by a Q&A session. Registration for the free webinar can be made here.

Task Force Authors

• David Baltensperger, Chair, Texas A&M University
• Manojit Basu, CropLife America
• Zhengxia Dou, University of Pennsylvania
• Sally Flis, Nutrien Ag Solutions
• David Galligan, University of Pennsylvania
• Marty Matlock, University of Arkansas
• Cristine Morgan, Soil Health Institute
• Debbie Reed, Ecosystem Services Market Consortium
• Charles W. Rice, Kansas State University
• Gerald Shurson, University of Minnesota
• Juan M. Tricarico, Dairy Management Inc.
• Addie M. Thompson, Michigan State University
• Allison Thomson, Field to Market
• J. Alex Thomasson, Mississippi State University
• Jianming Yu, Iowa State University

Contact Information

Kent Schescke | CAST Executive Vice President

(515) 292-2125 | kschescke@cast-science.org

About CAST

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology is an international consortium of scientific and professional societies, companies, and nonprofit organizations. Through its network of experts, CAST assembles, interprets, and communicates credible, balanced, science-based information to policymakers, the media, the private sector, and the public.