Wednesday program will highlight federal climate mitigation programs for farmers

ALBANY – A Wednesday news conference will address how the federal Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, can help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The event will be held at 11 a.m. in Room 153 of the Billy C. Black building on Albany State University’s East Campus.

The IRA includes an allocation of $19.5 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s conservation programs designed to help farmers be part of the solution in addressing climate change.

In the past, these conservation programs were underfunded and oversubscribed, according to organizers. But thanks to the new law, more of the state’s farmers will have the opportunity to participate in the popular programs.

As congress considers reauthorization of the Farm Bill this year, safeguarding climate-smart agricultural investments is more crucial now than ever. Speakers will call on federal officials to thwart any attempts to reduce or redirect the money for climate smart agricultural programs.

Speakers will include Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson, Bluffton beef producer Will Harris of White Oak Pastures, Fredando Jackson of Flint River Fresh and Albany State University mathematics, computer science and physics professor Robert Owor.

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