Source: POLITICO' S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/2/19

When South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked about climate change during the first round of Democratic debates in June and he brought up soil, of all things, it took some by surprise.

"Rural Americans can be part of the solution instead of being told they're part of the problem," Buttigieg said. "With the right kind of soil management and other kinds of investments, rural America could be a huge part of how we get this done."

A bubbling trend? Now, as candidates roll out their climate plans and grind through more gladiator-style debates, it seems like agriculture is starting to break through as a piece of the environmental puzzle.

Paying for carbon sequestration: Front-runner Joe Biden has proposed taking American agriculture to net-zero emissions. The former vice president wants to "dramatically expand and fortify" a voluntary USDA conservation program that pays farmers, under five-year contracts, to adopt certain practices. He also said the program should be part of potential carbon markets by allowing corporations, individuals and foundations to help offset their emissions.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wants to provide grants, technical assistance and debt relief to support farmers' transition to more sustainable practices. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, as part of his $5 trillion climate plan, said he would create grants for farmers to secure better soil management and new technology.

Debate shout-outs: In the Democratic primary, farmers so far have gotten just about as many mentions in the context of climate as they have from the trade war. The night before soil management got its shoutout, O'Rourke had also pitched making ag part of the solution. "We're going to put farmers and ranchers in the driver's seat ... to make sure that we capture more carbon out of the air and keep more of it in the soil, paying farmers for the environmental services that they want to provide," he said.

At the debates this week, O'Rourke reiterated his position and Rep.Tim Ryan jumped into the fray. "You cannot get there on climate unless we talk about agriculture," Ryan said, as he called to move toward "regenerative agriculture" practices that sequester carbon. Sen.Amy Klobuchar seemed to endorse the idea, too.