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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Inflation Reduction Act to Help NE Farms Fight Climate Change

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Monday, January 2, 2023   

Nebraska farmers and ranchers who have struggled with climate-related issues like flooding and drought are expected to benefit in the new year from the Inflation Reduction Act's massive funding of ag-related conservation programs.

Over $3 billion goes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Stewardship Program - which provides a subsidy per acre for farms using methods like cover cropping, crop rotation and measures to reduce soil erosion and increase biodiversity.

John Crabtree - Nebraska Representative for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign - said more resilient soil is more drought-resistant and can produce higher yields, while also being capable of what he calls "feedback."

"Regenerating the quality and health of our soils is so vitally important, to the success of those farms and ranches," said Crabtree, "but also to helping address the climate crisis itself, by being more resilient and sequestering carbon."

Crabtree said he sees another huge benefit for farmers, ranchers and rural communities in the Rural Energy for America Program or "REAP."

It will receive more than $1 billion to provide grants and loans to implement energy-efficient practices or transition to renewable energy.

Helping nearly 37,000 farmers and ranchers invest in low-carbon energy production is another way the Inflation Reduction Act funds can allow them to be part of the solution, Crabtree said.

"High-efficiency grain dryers and things like that can improve the energy efficiency of that farm" said Crabtree. "And then, the second part is those renewable energy projects - solar panels, other things - to help provide energy for the actual farm or ranch itself."

Crabtree added that also receiving funding are USDA programs for underserved producers - including farmers of color and women, as well as veterans, beginning farmers and those working in high-poverty areas.

"The Inflation Reduction Act really takes this to where it should be" said Crabtree, "in making investments in those farmers that have not been served as they should have been, historically."



Disclosure: Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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