{"id":55816,"date":"2022-04-18T09:51:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T13:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/?p=55816"},"modified":"2022-04-18T09:51:12","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T13:51:12","slug":"the-future-of-conservation-and-the-grazing-revolution-farmers-and-ranchers-ask-congress-to-fund-the-grazing-lands-conservation-initiative-glci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/the-future-of-conservation-and-the-grazing-revolution-farmers-and-ranchers-ask-congress-to-fund-the-grazing-lands-conservation-initiative-glci\/","title":{"rendered":"THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION AND THE GRAZING REVOLUTION: FARMERS AND RANCHERS ASK CONGRESS TO FUND THE GRAZING LANDS CONSERVATION INITIATIVE (GLCI)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This is part one of a two part series to highlight the needs of grassroots voices and celebrate the advocacy of the eight farmers and ranchers who participated in the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)\u2019s virtual appropriations fly-in from March 29-31, 2022 to support GLCI and SARE, written by NSAC Grassroots Fellow Madeline Turner.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT GLCI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Working at the nexus of issues related to the climate crisis, land access, and the steep market pressures farmers and ranchers face, livestock producers across the country are looking to their animals and the soil for answers. Graziers, or producers who raise livestock on grass, are making the case for the widespread adoption of pasture based practices that demonstrate synchronous benefits for both local food systems and ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The adoption of sustainable and regenerative grazing practices requires a transition away from predominant systems of raising livestock, particularly confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The waste sitting on feedlots and the manure flushed into lagoons at CAFOs continues to degrade water and air quality in rural areas, leading to severe consequences for human health. The systems farmers and ranchers are advocating for present a restorative solution. Well-managed grazing operations build soil health over time and soil health translates into a variety of benefits for people and the environment. Pasa Sustainable Agricultures\u2019 Soil Health Benchmark Study<\/a>, featured in Lisa Held\u2019s recent article on regenerative grazing<\/a>, quantifies the benefits<\/a> of regenerative grazing and states that \u201cperennial pastured livestock farms are the \u2018gold standard\u2019 of soil health, achieving optimal scores for every soil health indicator we measured on nearly all fields we measured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The benefits of grazing systems are driven by the fact that establishing perennial pastures<\/a> and utilizing advanced grazing management systems can increase organic matter in soils and encourage carbon sequestration. These grazing systems work cyclically and seasonally to improve soil health, water holding capacity, and nutrient cycling<\/a>. Healthy soil leads to healthy grasses and year-round maintenance of cover increases water infiltration, improving the landscape’s resilience to both flood and drought. Additionally, grazing operations economically benefit farmers and local food systems as farmers are reporting decreased costs associated with feeding and veterinary care of animals.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The stories of farmers and ranchers leading the \u201cgrazing revolution\u201d<\/a> are being told all over the country, on farms of all sizes, and are not limited to operations that fit the familiar image of cows roaming on thousand acre ranches out west. While a diversity of stories are already being told, adopting sustainable and regenerative practices does require resources that not all farmers can equitably access. Structural barriers<\/a> to land access continue to present a significant challenge for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and other socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers<\/a> hoping to build their own sustainable farming operations. Additionally,  some farmers with access to land lack necessary technical assistance, education, and other resources to aid in the implementation of regenerative grazing practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, government spending through some key programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) continues to be disproportionately directed toward confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs)<\/a> rather than towards ecologically sound grazing operations. The EQIP program in particular, which is statutorily obligated to spend 50% of funds supporting livestock operations, is often utilized by CAFOs to pay for structural practices such as waste lagoons, animal mortality facilities, and waste treatment facilities, which negatively impact water and air quality. These same funds could be funneled to farmers implementing practices within advanced grazing systems that create substantial and lasting environmental benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is where the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) enters the landscape. GLCI provides local and regional resources for farmers and ranchers \u2013 both established and beginning \u2013 who are interested in understanding and utilizing grazing management practices. These resources include technical support, education, rancher to rancher learning, and funding for partnerships between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and grazing-focused organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a good program as it teaches through peer to peer experiments and demonstrations under ranch conditions,\u201d Montana rancher and grazing legend<\/a> Dale Veseth<\/strong> tells us after his meeting with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)\u2019s office. The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative presents new opportunities for the collaboration, coalition building, and learning that farmers and ranchers need to implement conservation practices. As with other federal initiatives, such as the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program<\/a>, farmer-led and regionally-focused programs address specific local needs while leading to substantial innovations in agricultural methods and technology and community education and empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GLCI is not a new program, however. the program has been around in some capacity since the nineties, funding for GLCI was included in the 2002 Farm Bill and increased to over $27 million in fiscal year 2008. Earlier GLCI funded projects have left lasting impacts on rural communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Janet Veseth<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s taught hundreds of students,” says Eric Cates<\/strong> of Cates Family Farms<\/a> of his father, Dick Cates. When grant funding initially became available, Dick Cates applied for and used GLCI funding to support the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers<\/a>, where today more than 80% of students go on to start, acquire, or transition into their own farming business. Eric told his family\u2019s story in meetings with Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), highlighting what it means to care for the soil, animals, and community simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Montana, Dale Veseth has also held GLCI close to his heart for more than thirty years. \u201cThe original GLCI project I was involved in back in the 1990\u2019s was a solar pump to fill a tank out of an existing reservoir to see if the cattle preferred tank water and had reduced impact on the adjacent reservoir shoreline,\u201d he describes.  \u201cWe did conclude that cattle and especially calves preferred the tanked water and that the reservoirs with the solar pump had less impact than the reservoirs without the tanked water. I know of several ranches that now use this technology to improve conservation and increase cattle production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Farmers across the nation say that a big obstacle to beginning or converting to managed-grazing is their need for knowledgeable, expert assistance,\u201d says Margaret Krome, a long-term advocate for GLCI and Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in Wisconsin. \u201cAmong its offerings, GLCI funds grazing technical assistance. A grazing specialist helps you develop locally appropriate grazing plans and then helps you successfully put it on the ground. What a difference grazing expertise makes!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside many other federally funded programs, however, GLCI lost funding in 2009 leaving grazing leaders nationwide calling for its restoration. This year, however, due to the diligent efforts of NSAC members, funding for GLCI has been re-established. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 designated $14 million for GLCI. While this is a solid victory for sustainable grazing, it also represents a call to action for folks across the sustainable agriculture movement as the program is still underfunded compared to the historic level of $27 million in 2008. The appropriations cycle for Fiscal Year 2023 is well underway and now is the time to demand $30 million in funding for GCLI and build on the historic reinvestment of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY ARE GRAZIERS ASKING FOR FUNDING NOW?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a grassroots campaign priority, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is participating in the federal appropriations process to advocate for GLCI alongside SARE<\/a> based upon demonstrated, on-the-ground needs observed by farmers and food systems organizations nationally. But what are appropriations<\/a> and why are they necessary right now? Congress can allocate money to programs and agencies in two ways, by creating mandatory funding or appropriations authority. Mandatory funding is made available by the law that creates it, but appropriations authority makes a certain sum available for specific Congressional committees to spend at their discretion. Every year, Congress engages in a process where it allocates funds to all functions of the US government that rely on appropriations authority and the final dollars it puts towards particular programs or government functions are considered ‘appropriated.’ Appropriations committees in the House and Senate make decisions about how these funds are spent, informed by constituent requests and advocacy efforts. NSAC engages in this process in several ways, one of which is directly connecting farmers and ranchers with their members of Congress to advocate for particular programs vital to supporting food system resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Most importantly, a virtual fly-in allows farmers to directly advocate for the programs they benefit from in meetings with their legislators. This presents producers and congressional offices with the opportunity to build relationships and puts farmers’ stories at the center of the appropriations process. During meetings with seven different congressional offices, five ranchers advocated for $30 million in funding for GLCI to ensure those who are interested in grazing get the dedicated technical help necessary to implement a regenerative form of livestock agriculture with the potential to mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change in rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE SEEDS FOR A ROBUST UTILIZATION OF GLCI HAVE ALREADY BEEN PLANTED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The farmer and rancher advocates who accompanied the NSAC fly-in exemplify how the groundwork for utilization of the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative is already being laid, a preliminary success that is in part a result of the program\u2019s initial iteration. Individual graziers are not alone \u2013 there are already vibrant community organizations and grazing coalitions enthusiastic about widespread implementation of advanced grazing management systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Dale Veseth works closely with Montana\u2019s Rancher’s Stewardship Alliance<\/a> (RSA), a rancher-led organization that champions peer-to-peer education efforts and the creation of resilient rural communities through grass-focused conservation efforts. For the folks who work with RSA, ranching and grazing management are tools to foster the ecological, social, and economic conditions to enhance biodiversity and empower anyone who seeks to steward land. RSA applied for and received grant funding through GLCI to support outreach and education projects that their members and partners collaborate on. RSA is still working within their grant and this summer they will be producing more educational materials to support sustainable ranching in North Central Montana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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