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The extremely wet spring of 2019 caused 14.2 million acres of cropland to go unplanted in the Midwest. Farmers across the region had flooded fields that kept them from getting equipment onto the fields to plant their crops. This resulted in over $4 billion of prevent-plant crop insurance claims, which assists farmers when weather conditions …

U.S. farmers, ranchers and foresters will need additional tools and resources to protect their land, keep growing food on a changing planet and contribute to national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s where the farm bill comes in. The farm bill is a critical piece of legislation that comes up every five years. It …

The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance released policy recommendations for the 2023 farm bill and urges both chambers of Congress and the President to act this year to pass a farm bill that advances voluntary bipartisan climate solutions.

Food systems transformation is increasingly getting traction globally, making the case that we can’t meet our Paris climate agreements without food at and on the table. That was certainly true at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin.

Four reasons to be hopeful for climate action in 2023.

A new partnership will work to reduce methane emissions from production of milk around the world.

This EDF report shares the results of a multi-year study conducted on five farms in India to measure nitrous oxide emissions from different nitrogen application rates in different cropping systems. It shows that carefully chosen alternative practices (with lower nitrogen rates) can achieve a triple win: farmers get similar or better yields, similar or higher profits, and must lower nitrous oxide emissions.

Learn how much carbon cropland soils can store by exploring two white papers from EDF.

This legislation paves the way for producers to generate additional revenue from lowering emissions and storing carbon, while also building resilience to droughts, variable rainfall and other climate impacts that are already making a difficult profession even harder. 

To address climate change, the U.S. is making a historic investment in farmers, ranchers and rural communities, helping them cut emissions, prepare for climate impacts that are already here, and create good jobs along the way.

A recent poll, commissioned by EDF Action and conducted by Global Strategy Group, found broad support among majorities of Minnesotans for ambitious climate policies.

The Banking for Impact on Climate in Agriculture initiative published a guide for banks to set net zero GHG emissions targets for ag loan portfolios.

At COP15, how countries deal with conservation, natural climate solutions and sustainable agriculture and fisheries will be critical in producing durable solutions. Here are the areas EDF is watching.

Food and agriculture is a significant contributor to climate change, emitting a whopping 30% of global emissions. That’s why EDF’s Climate Corps graduate fellowship program is launching the Animal Agriculture pilot program during the summer of 2023.

Last January, FBN and EDF launched the $25 million RAF pilot program and provided nearly 50 farmers with seasonal lines of credit of up to $5 million. EDF provides oversight related to the environmental criteria required for RAF eligibility. RAF will double in size to $50 million in operating lines for the coming season and anticipates originating up to $1 billion in climate-smart operating lines over the next five years.

Nitrogen is essential for life, but excess nitrogen can pollute the atmosphere and water. EDF's new N Balance Implementation Guide provides a road map for food and agriculture companies to help reduce nitrogen pollution from agricultural production and claim the environmental improvements associated with nitrogen management.

EDF’s Executive Vice President for Impact, Angela Churie Kallhauge, reflects on the outcomes of the annual United Nations climate conference.

Nitrogen — which is often added to farm fields through commercial fertilizer, manure or leguminous plants — is essential for feeding and clothing eight billion people around the world, and counting. But serious problems occur when fields have too little or too much nitrogen. Too little lowers crop yields and depletes soil health. Too much …

Citing the overlapping challenges of climate, energy poverty, food security, President Joe Biden today unveiled a suite of actions to support developing countries adapt and build resilience to climate impacts, recommit to global efforts to reduce methane emissions, and create climate-smart food systems.  

Farmers have a long history of steadily increasing crop yields through technological innovation and improvements in management practices. However, as climate change makes weather more extreme and variable than ever before, productivity progress will likely stall by 2030 — even if the U.S. maintains past rates of R&D investment and innovation. Adaptation efforts must begin …

As the UN climate conference kicks off in Egypt, food and agriculture are central to negotiations for the first time. More severe droughts, warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall fueled by climate change are making it harder than ever for the world’s one billion farmers to grow food and fiber. While some farms and regions are …

In 2022, EDF and Deloitte conducted a survey of finance institutions serving the agriculture sector in North America, Europe and India to measure the climate change perceptions, actions and challenges at agricultural finance institutions. This report aims to understand how climate change is perceived by agricultural finance institutions and how they are responding.

EDF report is for agricultural lenders and lending institutions, as well as others interested in understanding the climate risks faced by the agricultural lending sector and the role of agricultural lenders in financing resilient agriculture. We provide a path forward for lenders to mitigate climate risks and finance resilient agriculture.

As climate change threatens agricultural production around the world, the agricultural finance institutions that work with farmers also face growing risk to their businesses — as well as untapped opportunities to help farmers prepare for climate impacts. A new report — The Impacts of Climate Change on Agricultural Finance — conducted by Environmental Defense Fund …