Biden's 30x30 conservation plan is not as extreme as some Republicans claim, Tennessee agricultural economists write

A Biden administration conservation plan has some conservative politicians and farming stakeholders concerned, but it's not as extreme as it may sound, and may be important to preserving America's agricultural capacity in the future, write Harwood Schaffer and Daryll Ray of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee in their latest "Policy Pennings" column.

President Biden's 30x30 plan aims to conserve at least 30 percent of the nation's lands and waters by 2030. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, said in a tweet that the plan is an "egregious" "land grab." Schaffer and Ray write, "While 30 percent seems like a large number, we need to put it into perspective. Currently, 12 percent of the land in the US is permanently protected. At the same time 'approximately 60 percent of land in the continental US is in a natural state.' That suggests that the remaining 18 percent will not have to come from agriculture alone but could involve activities on other lands as well."

And, they note, climate change could significantly harm farmers and ranchers with flooding, droughts, and more: "There is a significant possibility that farmers, ranchers, and orchardists could be at greater risk from the results of climate change than from the 30×30 plan."