U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a Kankakee County farm Monday, where he noted that the U.S. has lost about 438,000 farms since 1981.
WGEM reports that Vilsack told journalists that USDA has incentivized the market to buy from farmers using sustainable practices, called climate-smart agriculture.
According to Vilsack, engaging in green practices allows farmers to enhance revenue streams by selling carbon offsets.
He also noted that a large potential market exists in using crops to create sustainable jet fuel, calling it a 36-billion-gallon industry that currently doesn’t exist.
