Dive Brief:
- The Biden administration is recruiting the next generation of conservation leaders to advance regenerative agriculture and other climate-smart farming practices across U.S. farms.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday said it will create paid service opportunities for more than 100 young people to promote sustainable agriculture as part of the Working Lands Climate Corps.
- The initiative is part of the American Climate Corps, an effort to train more than 20,000 young people and prepare them for careers in a clean energy economy.
Dive Insight:
Millions of Americans were put to work in the 1930s to restore the nation's public lands as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Now the Biden administration hopes to revive central components of the program to create workforce opportunities for a new generation.
Participants of the Working Lands Climate Corps will conduct outreach and educate farmers about the availability of assistance programs to help transition to climate-smart agriculture.
“USDA’s Working Lands Climate Corps demonstrates how the President’s historic initiative is on the frontlines of addressing some of the most urgent challenges facing our agricultural communities," Ali Zaidi, national climate advisor to President Joe Biden, said in a statement, "ensuring that farmers and ranchers continue to play a central and growing role in developing innovative climate solutions."
The first cohort of members will serve with state and local organizations that support the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices. The National Association of Conservation Districts will organize trainings for corps members on topics including climate-smart agriculture practices, conservation and resilience planning, environmental justice and outreach to farmers and rural communities.
USDA is one of the seven agencies that signed a memorandum of understanding to create the American Climate Corps, an initiative which puts young people on the path to jobs in conservation, clean energy and climate resilience. More than 50,000 young people have expressed interest in the climate corps program since it was announced in September.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is spearheading the working lands program in partnership with AmeriCorps, the Corps Network and the National Association of Conservation Districts.
“Born amid the Dust Bowl crisis of the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps revitalized farmlands across the nation. Today, farmers are facing new a threat — climate change and droughts,” said AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith, adding the program will "mobilize Americans across the country to restore soil health, promote sustainable farming practices, and tackle the disproportionate impacts that climate change has on the farming industry and our food.”
