A Workshop for LandOwners, Farmers, Policy Makers and Concerned Citizens

On September 15th, State Representative Joseph Cervantes and American Farmland Trust hosted a summit on agriculture and clean energy. Attendees learned about how proposed clean energy legislation will impact agriculture in New Mexico.

Agriculture professionals, and economists discussed opportunities for New Mexico’s farmers in clean energy legislation and answered attendees' questions.

Featured Events

• Comments from Mayor Ken Miyagishima, Rep. Joseph Cervantes, and representatives from the offices of Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Congressman Harry Teague
• Agriculture and Clean Energy Legislation
  Jimmy Daukas, American Farmland Trust
  Presentation [PDF]
• Sorting Out the Costs and Benefits of Clean Energy Legislation
  Andy Olsen, Environmental Law and Policy Center
  Presentation [PDF]
  J.E. "Ed" de Steiguer, University of Arizona, Natural Resources and the Environment
  Presentation [PDF]
• Agriculture Opportunities - Offset and Energy Panel
  Joel Brown, NMSU, Managing Arid Lands For Carbon Credits
  Presentation [PDF]
  Gary Teague, Producer, Teague Diversified, Anaerobic Digester
  Curtis Sayles, Producer, Carbon Credit Offsets
  Presentation [PDF]
  Brodie Ayers, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
  Presentation [PDF]
• Complete Agenda of Events [PDF]
• Speaker Bios

Background Reading

Role of Agriculture Under Proposed Climate Change Legislation

• Responses to a House Draft of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 [PDF] 83.5 kB
• Myths and Facts Surrounding Climate Change Legislation [PDF] 183 kB
• Agriculture's Role in a Cap and Trade System: An AFT Video Tutorial [MOV] 51.1MB

Economic Effects of ACES on Agriculture

• Summary of Recent Cost Impact Data for ACES Act 2009 [PDF] 1.68 MB
• The Value of a Carbon Offset Market for Agriculture [PDF] 231 kB
• USDA Analysis of the Economic Effects of ACES on Agriculture [PDF] 65kB

Agricultural Land and Offsetting Greenhouse Gasses

• Contributing to the Mitigation of Climate Change Using Rangeland Management [PDF] 102 kB
• Rangelands and Climate Change: A Synthesis and Challenges [PDF] 42 kB

Legislative Background

• Timeline of Significant Climate Dates
• View the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 text [PDF] 2.3MB

For more information please contact Anita Zurbrugg, Center for Agriculture in the Environment, American Farmland Trust, azurbrugg@niu.edu,  815-753-9686.