As agriculture’s role in climate solutions becomes more critical, a new Land Use Change Initiative (LUCI), funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) in partnership with Carbon A List, is leading efforts to standardize definitions, metrics and methodologies for quantifying land use change.

LUCI hosted its first Land Use Change Summit at McDonald’s International Headquarters in Chicago on July 29-30, gathering nearly 100 experts across the food and agriculture value chain.

“Farmers have often been left out of conversations regarding land use change and its collective impact on agriculture. We weren’t at the table, so we had to build our own table through this land use change initiative,” said Steve Reinhard, USB Chair and Ohio farmer who presented keynote remarks at the summit. “North American agriculture and the half-million soybean farmers who represent 90 million acres can have a huge impact on climate solutions.”

Attendees at the summit came from a diverse group of stakeholders, including farmer and rancher organizations, environmental groups, food corporations, academia, and government. The LUCI summit included presentations, panels, and breakout sessions, as well as remarks from Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. LUCI participants discussed ways to find common ground, set a strategic course, and plan the next steps forward.

More information is available on the Land Use Change Initiative webpage.