ARA & Ag Retailers Promote Earth Day Year-Round
Apr 22 2024
Environmental stewardship is not a subject taken lightly by ag retailers or their farmer customers. In fact, they are among the first to feel the climate impact and play an integral role in enacting solutions to protect our planet.
Smart farming trends such as selective spraying systems, data analytics, and more widespread rural connectivity are just a few ways ag retailers achieve greater efficiency and maximize yields for their farmer customers while reducing environmental impacts, according to The Scoop. However, ag retailers are only able to implement these sustainable ag approaches with the essential tools, support, and research at their fingertips.
Protecting & Promoting Modern Ag
That’s why ARA and its membership established modern agricultural technologies as one of its 2024 public policy priorities. More research is needed to uncover innovative ways to enhance crop yields and plant health. At the same time, we must protect the tools already in the ag retailer’s hand (treated seed, precision ag tech, biostimulants, crop protection, fertilizer, etc.) so that they may continue empowering American farmers with sustainable ag best practices.
For example, ag retailers know to protect their access to critical tools like treated seeds by always following the basic steps to treated seed stewardship. Treated seeds are more protected during their most vulnerable time, and their precise application results in less influence on the surrounding environment while returning more of the farmer’s seed investment.
Prioritizing Regenerative Ag in New Farm Bill
A reauthorized Farm Bill can be a significant conduit to regenerative ag advancements. Therefore, ARA and its membership continue urging Congress to address the shortage of Technical Service Providers (TSPs) who help farmers adopt USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs by including the Increased TSP Access Act in a new Farm Bill.
The bipartisan legislation would allow 11,000 Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) to implement NCRS programs, helping fill the agency’s projected need to hire at least 3,000 employees in two years, according to AgWeb. To prepare more ag retailers to become CCAs, ARA partners with the American Society of Agronomy to offer its members an affordable self-paced, online agronomy training.
Similar to the focus on more certified TSPs, the Plant Biostimulant Act of 2023 should be wrapped up in the next Farm Bill because it would remove barriers to plant biostimulant adoption by ag retailers to improve natural plant nutritional processes and overall yields while reducing nutrient runoff.
Join ARA and its members by using ARA's easy-to-use grassroots advocacy tool to send a message to your lawmakers in Congress urging them to support the Plant Biostimulant Act. It takes less than a minute to advocate for easier access to regenerative ag tools.
Thanking Ag's Good Stewards
By working closely with their farmer customers, ag retailers deploy the best methods to ensure our land is cared for and healthy for generations to come. On this Earth Day, ARA thanks the good stewards of this planet who provide the food, fuel and fiber for today’s growing population. The ARA team will continue to serve as your eyes and ears in Washington so that your team can continue contributing climate-smart practices at scale in our country’s food supply chain.