Featured image by Alicja/Pixabay/hazelnuts- Article by Agriculture Fairness Alliance
Dan is a Wisconsin dairyman, but he longs to be a hazelnut farmer. Why? Because he understands the devastating environmental impact of dairy and would rather farm sustainably for current and future generations.
We first learned of Dan on Reddit in a thread about the environmental impact of dairy. He liked the idea of our proposed legislation. He agreed that instead of vilifying animal ag farmers, our government should help farmers switch to sustainable farming endeavors.
Along with Lobbyists4Good, we developed initial drafts of our At-Risk Farmers Act with Dan in mind. We finalized the language by consulting with transition experts from Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP) in Texas. RAP will be a prime candidate for using At-Risk Farmer funds to help farmers like Dan transition. If you’re not familiar with the work of Renee King-Sonnen over at the Rancher Advocacy Program, do check her out. She’s helped many animal farmers transition. Their stories are incredible.
We’ve been wondering: when Congress passes our At-Risk Farmers Act, what if Dan applied for a grant and transformed his farm? What impact would that have on the environment?
There’s no reason Dan can’t transform his farm. Well – there’s one: money. That’s where our At-Risk Farmers legislation comes in. When passed, this pilot program will allocate millions of dollars every year to help farmers like Dan transition. Instead of bailing out farmers to farm unsustainably, we say let’s help them switch to sustainable plant-based food production.
Dan’s Motivation to Transition
Dan first got the idea for transitioning from dairy farming to growing tree nuts when he read the book Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard. He realized the environmental impact of dairy was unsustainable. He learned that dairying degraded the earth by many metrics, from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water pollution to soil degradation and biodiversity loss. A desire took root: to stop being a part of the environmental destruction and start taking part in solutions.
“I don’t know how to convey how urgently and drastically we need to address climate change and biosphere collapse, but as far as insights from rural Wisconsin voters like me, agriculture land has enormous potential in combating climate change and biodiversity loss. Farmers would love to be a part of the solution if they’re met halfway rather than vilified. Wisconsin lost 600 dairy farms in 2018. Dairy subsidies won’t help these farmers that already sold out. They’re looking for alternatives.”
Dan, Wisconsin Dairy Farmer
Read the full article HERE.
