U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Thursday attended his first hearing as a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
During the meeting, Tuberville continued his advocacy for rural Alabama, highlighting the importance of the Yellowhammer State’s agriculture industry.
“I’m excited about being here,” he said in his opening statement. “Alabama’s farmers and rural communities sent me here to be their voice, and I plan to fight hard on their behalf.”
“Rural Alabama and rural communities all across our nation must not be forgotten, and I will use my position on this committee to express the views and opinions of Alabama farmers so that they can continue to do what they do best – farm their land with no undue burdens on them,” the freshman senator continued. “With farming and forestry combining to make agriculture the largest industry in Alabama, I look forward to serving on the Ag committee to ensure they continue to thrive.”
An executive order issued January 27 by President Joe Biden announced a “30-30″ initiative, pledging to conserve 30% each of America’s land and waterways by 2030. This was the subject of one of Tuberville’s questions during the hearing. He drilled down on the feasibility of America’s farmers and producers being profitable if Biden’s “30-30” initiative was to be implemented.
“In order for the agriculture economy to continue to thrive, farmers must have productive land to produce a crop year in and year out,” Tuberville remarked. “Farmland acreage across this country, including in Alabama, is not expanding – it is shrinking. The trend continues on; our farmers are having to produce more with less to feed our country and the world.”
He added, “If the Department of Agriculture is going to play a direct, or indirect, part in carbon banking or greenhouse gas reduction practices, highly fertile and productive lands cannot be moved into retirement in attempts to achieve this. Additionally, any programs like this, either through the government or the private sector, must be voluntary, market-driven, and incentive-based.”
“The Biden Administration’s Executive Order on climate change, they outlined a ‘30-30’ initiative of conserving at least 30% of our lands and water by 2030. Mr. Isbell, as a farmer, if you lost 30% of your farmland, would you still be profitable? Or would [this] level of reduction to your productive lands have a largely negative effect on your operation?” the senator asked Mark Isbell, a farmer testifying before the committee.
Tuberville also focused on the importance of properly managing existing forests.
“Today’s hearing is ‘Farmers and Foresters: Opportunities to Lead in Tackling Climate Change.’ I’m all for that. Alabama has 23.1 million acres of forests – 94% of those forests are owned by more than 250,000 private forest owners,” the Lee County resident outlined. “Forests need to be protected but we protect them by managing them – and in keeping a managed forest it remains healthy and productive. In the South, particularly in Alabama, healthy forests are driven by healthy markets for the products growing in these forests.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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