Farmers, ranchers, and foresters are among the most dedicated stewards of God’s creation. We applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” pilot program that will better empower them—including smaller family farmers and underrepresented Black, Indigenous, and female farmers—to put climate-smart conservation practices into action on their land. This program not only makes American farmers key players in the climate solution, but it also means higher incomes through innovative revenue opportunities, greater food production with more enriched soil, and greater protection against climate-fueled weather disasters that threaten valuable crops.

Many of America’s farmers are Christians who have answered the biblical call to tend and care for God’s creation (Genesis 2:15) and feed all God’s children. This new partnership will enable them to live out both of these callings even better.