AFT's Center for Agriculture in the Environment helps protect America's agricultural lands and promotes healthy farming practices. This public policy research center works closely with the academic, environmental and agricultural communities to raise awareness of issues by providing research and strong academic arguments for wise public policy. more

Environmentally Responsible Farming practices

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a sustainable approach to managing pests that combines biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health and environmental risks. One important focus of AFT's work is our commitment to IPM. In 1997, AFT entered into a cooperative agreement with EPA to administer IPM projects around the country. more

Promoting Nutrient Best Management Practices and Conservation Tillage

Most farmers are concerned about excessive use of fertilizer, soil run-off and green house gas emissions from farms as threats to our nation's water, air and wildlife—but some fear they are putting their yields and income at risk if conservation farming practices are adopted to reduce those threats. AFT's Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center (ACIC) addressed this challenge by pioneering the use of conservation risk management tools to protect producers from financial loss when they implement healthy farming practices. more

ecosystem service markets

Helping Farmers Grow Green

While the United States continues to debate the best approach for tackling climate change, the voluntary carbon trading market is alive and well. Farmers and ranchers are getting a piece of the carbon trading pie, with more than one million acres of U.S. cropland storing carbon in the soil using practices including no-till farming and planting grasses and trees. Agriculture has a significant role to play in helping reach our climate change goals, whether through offsetting carbon, growing biofuels, or generating alternative energy such as wind or solar power. AFT’s Center for Agriculture in the Environment is working with farmers and ranchers throughout the country to host a series of listening sessions to learn just what is working “in the field.”

Partnering for a cleaner environment

Presidential Climate Action Project

American Farmland Trust is playing a key role the Presidential Climate Action Project, a national initiative to develop a bold and decisive climate action plan for the next President of the United States to tackle global warming.

A comprehensive action plan released in December, 2007 includes a chapter with detailed recommendations drafted by AFT about the important role agriculture will play in areas such as carbon sequestration, solar and wind power, and methane capture on farms.

EPA Plants Seeds to Reap Environmental and Economic Benefits with New Agriculture Committee

"Agriculture has a big role to play as part of the solution to environmental challenges. We think by sitting down at the same table, as this committee will do, together we can do what's good for agriculture and good for our environment, " said the EPA's Jon Scholl about the newly formed Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee.  Members of the EPA's first-ever agricultural advisory committee (PDF)—which includes AFT's president Ralph Grossi—represent large and small farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; rural suppliers, marketers, and processors; academics and researchers who study environmental issues impacting agriculture; and, environmental and conservation groups.