Matt Russell Coyote Run Farm 

### 1841 20'h PL Lacona, Iowa 

### 50319 515-689-8219 www.coyote-run-farm.com- farm@coyote-run-farm.com

Food Policy Project Coordinator Drake UniversityAgricultural Law Center Des Moines, Iowa www.law.drake.edu/aglaw- matt.russell@drake.edu July 

### 31, 2014

Good morning. My name is Matt Russell. I'm afifth generation Iowa farmer. I've been involved in agriculture my entire life starting with my parents' farm in Southwest Iowa, buying my own farm in 

### 2005that I co-own and operatewith my spouse who works 

### full time on the farm, and building acareer educating about and advocatingfor agriculture including earning a master's in Rural Sociologyfrom Iowa State University. Currently, I'm on staffat the Drake UniversityAgricultural Law Center in Des Moineswhere Iwork on food and agriculture policy.

Global climate change is the most important human problem ofmy lifetime. The consequences ofa changing climate aren'tthat big ofa problem forthe planet. It's probably not even that big of a problem for life to continue to exist on the planet. But global climate change is a huge problem for human life.

In the next decade, we're goingto move from debatingwhetherto deal with global climate change to an all-out race againstthe clock to adapt tothe consequences as well as to innovate to reverse the causes. As afarmer, I rely on science every dayto help grow my crops and produce my livestock. I also depend on and trustthe climate scientists who are soundingthe alarm aboutwhat climate change is goingto mean for myfarm. The proposed EPA standard on carbon emissions is a positive step toward both reducingthe impacts ofclimate change on agriculture and creating a dynamicwhere farmers use their land and know howto develop clean energy producingtechnologies and to develop practices that can 

### pull increasing amounts of carbon out ofthe atmosphere.

As farmers, our business is to respond to very basic human needs, growingthe feed, fiber, and fuel the world demands. We don't dothis in offices orfactories; we farm in nature. The weatheron a daily basis is absolutely essential to our individual livelihoods. The climate is critical forfarmersto be ableto feed 7 billion people living on planet earth.

Extreme weather overthe past decade, has changed the discussion among farmers. We've
seen firsthand whatthe climate scientists have said is goingto happen.Just in the past year, American farmers have seen historic droughts, historic flooding, historic fires, and historic high winds. We're dealing with new pest infestations, super weeds, and crop diseases fueled by achanging climate.

In the last year and a half, ourfarm has had snow in May and broken rainfall records, high temperature records, lowtemperature records, and drought records. Last yearwe had 800,000 acres of Iowa farm land that went unplanted because ofwet conditions followed by yield losses because ofdry weather in subsequent months. We're back intothat pattern. Record rainfall in June and nowwe're going into ourthird week without adrop of rain. My parents' farm hasn't had any rain since July 5.
Some farmers are still in the camp ofdenyingthat humans are causing climate change, but every farmer is scramblingto adjust to the increase in extreme weather. In justthe last decade, there's been an intense increase in anxiety about going as hard as you can when you can because youjust don't know when the weather is goingto change and stop you dead in your tracks. A mistake in timing or missing awindow is the difference between having and not having acrop. Last yearthose 800,000 unplanted acres in Iowa proved this point.
Climate change is real, it's happening, it's goingto get worse, and it's already causing great harm to American farms. The future predicted by climate scientists looks like present day California with crop failures, increased food costs, lostjobs, and battles over resources.
American farmers are notjustvictims. We can be part ofthe solution. We can innovate, we can implement, and we can lead the world in solvingthe problems ofclimate change. US farmers may be lagging behind on addressing climate change politically, but we are starting to step up. Agriculture will play a huge role in reducing emissions and actually putting carbon back in the ground. We're developing cover crops, using no till, and buying higher efficiency equipment. We can also generate clean energy. For example, Pennsylvaniajoins Iowa as a leader in wind generation. Dairy farmers are developing methane digesters turning manure into electricity. Farmers have developed the biofuels industry. Reducing our dependence on the most polluting power plants increases the ability for American farmers to innovate on our land.

American farmers don't need to waitto have companies tell them whatto do like General Mills who announced this weekthey are committed to reducing climate change-causing greenhouse gas alongtheir entire supply chain, including farms. We are goingto step up and be counted on to lead the world in battling climate change. Ispeak for a lot ofAmerican farmers when Isay let's stop wasting our time debatingthe existence ofclimate change. Let's stop wringing our hands because this problem is goingto take resources to solve. We need to use ourtime and moneyto find ways to protectthe climate we depend on. Time and again, American agriculture has led the world in solving big problems. We are ready to put ourshoulders to the wheel to help solve this one.