WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2022
– Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the Biden-Harris
Administration through the U.S. Department of Agriculture is
investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first
pool of the
Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity,
with projects from the second funding pool to be announced later
this year. Ultimately, USDA’s anticipated investment will triple to
more than $3 billion in pilots that will create market opportunities
for American commodities produced using climate-smart production
practices. These initial projects will expand markets for
climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of
climate-smart commodity production and provide direct, meaningful
benefits to production agriculture, including for small and
underserved producers. Applicants submitted more than 450 project
proposals in this first funding pool, and the strength of the
projects identified led USDA to increase its investment in this
opportunity from the initial $1 billion Vilsack announced earlier
this year.“There is strong and
growing interest in the private sector and among consumers for food
that is grown in a climate-friendly way,” said Vilsack. “Through
today’s announcement of initial selections for the Partnerships for
Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA is delivering on our promise to
build and expand these market opportunities for American agriculture
and be global leaders in climate-smart agricultural production. This
effort will increase the competitive advantage of U.S. agriculture
both domestically and internationally, build wealth that stays in
rural communities and support a diverse range of producers and
operation types.”
Earlier this year, Vilsack announced
that USDA had allocated $1 billion for the program, divided into two
funding pools. Because of the unprecedented demand and interest in
the program, and potential for meaningful opportunities to benefit
producers through the proposals, the Biden-Harris administration
increased the total funding allocation to more than $3 billion, with
projects from the second funding pool to be announced later this
year. Vilsack made the announcement from the campus of Penn State
University, which is the lead partner on one of the selected pilot
projects to implement climate-smart practices, quantify and track
the greenhouse gas benefits and develop markets for the resulting
climate-smart commodities.
Funding for Partnerships for
Climate-Smart Commodities will be delivered through USDA’s
Commodity Credit
Corporation in two pools. Projects announced today are from the
first funding pool, which included proposals seeking funds ranging
from $5 million to $100 million. USDA received over 450 proposals
from more than 350 entities for this funding pool, including
nonprofit organizations; for-profits and government entities; farmer
cooperatives; conservation, energy and environmental groups; state,
tribal and local governments; universities (including minority
serving institutions); small businesses; and large corporations.
Applications covered every state in the nation as well as tribal
lands, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The tentative selections announced
today reflect this broad set of applicants and geographic scope, and
the proposals include plans to match on average over 50% of the
federal investment with nonfederal funds.
USDA will work with the applicants for
the 70 identified projects to finalize the scope and funding levels
in the coming months. A complete list of projects identified for
this first round of funding is available at
usda.gov/climate-smart-commodities. These include:
- Climate-Smart Agriculture
Innovative Finance Initiative: This project, which will
cover more than 30 states, will use innovative finance mechanisms
to accelerate climate-smart practice uptake by farmers, leveraging
private sector demand to strengthen markets for climate-smart
commodities. A broad array of partners will provide technical
assistance and additional financial incentives to a diverse array
of producers across a broad range of commodities, tying
climate-smart practice to commodity purchases and creating a
scalable model for private sector investment. Lead partner: Field
to Market
- Scaling Methane Emissions
Reductions and Soil Carbon Sequestration: Through this
project, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) climate-smart pilots will
directly connect the on-farm greenhouse gas reductions with the
low-carbon dairy market opportunity. DFA will use its cooperative
business model to ensure that the collective financial benefits
are captured at the farm, creating a compelling opportunity to
establish a powerful self-sustaining circular economy model
benefiting U.S. agriculture, including underserved producers. Lead
partner: Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
- The Soil Inventory Project
Partnership for Impact and Demand: This project will
build climate-smart markets, streamline field data collection and
combine sample results with modeling to make impact
quantifications accurate and locally specific but also scalable.
Targeted farms produce value-added and direct-to-consumer
specialty crops as well as the 19 most common row crops in the
United States. Lead partner: The Meridian Institute
- The Grass is Greener on the
Other Side: Developing Climate-Smart Beef and Bison Commodities:
This project will create market opportunities for beef and bison
producers who utilize climate-smart agriculture grazing and land
management practices. The project will guide and educate producers
on climate-smart practices most suited for their operations,
manage large-scale climate-smart data that will be used by
producers to improve decision-making, and directly impact market
demand for climate-smart beef/bison commodity markets. Lead
university: South Dakota State University
- Traceable Reforestation for
America’s Carbon and Timber: This project builds
climate-smart markets for timber and forest products and addresses
the need to expand and recover the nation’s forest estate to
balance the demand for wood products with the increasing need for
forests to serve as carbon reservoirs. The project will deploy
funding, planning, and implementation of reforestation and
afforestation activities in lands deforested by wildfire in the
Western U.S. and degraded agricultural lands in the Southern U.S.
Every acre planted and the volume of forest products generated
will have a quantified and verified climate benefit in metric tons
of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). Lead partner:
Oregon Climate Trust
Spanning up to five years, these 70
projects will:
- Provide technical and financial
assistance to producers to implement climate-smart production
practices on a voluntary basis on working lands;
- Pilot innovative and cost-effective
methods for quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification
of greenhouse gas benefits; and
- Develop markets and promote the
resulting climate-smart commodities.
The projects announced today will
deliver significant impacts for producers and communities
nationwide. USDA anticipates that these projects will result in:
- Hundreds of expanded markets
and revenue streams for producers and commodities across
agriculture ranging from traditional corn to specialty crops.
- More than 50,000 farms
reached, encompassing more than 20-25 million acres of working
land engaged in climate-smart production practices such
as cover crops, no-till and nutrient management.
- More than 50 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent sequestered over the lives of
the projects. This is equivalent to removing more than 10
million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road for one
year.
- More than 50 universities,
including multiple minority-serving institutions, engaged
and helping advance projects, especially with outreach and
monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification.
- Proposals for the 70 selected
projects include plans to match on average over 50% of the
federal investment with nonfederal funds.
Projects were selected based on a range
of criteria, with emphasis placed on greenhouse gas and/or carbon
sequestration benefits and equity. The
Notice of Funding Opportunity included a complete set of project
proposal requirements and evaluation criteria.
USDA is currently evaluating project
proposals from the second Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
funding pool, which includes funding requests from $250,000 to
$4,999,999. Projects from this second funding pool will emphasize
the enrollment of small and/or underserved producers, and/or
monitoring, reporting and verification activities developed at
minority-serving institutions. USDA expects to announce these
selections later this Fall.
More Information
Partnerships for Climate-Smart
Commodities is part of USDA’s broader strategy to position
agriculture and forestry as leaders in climate change mitigation
through voluntary, incentive-based, market-driven approaches. Visit
usda.gov/climate-smart-commodities to learn more about this
effort, and
usda.gov/climate-solutions for climate-related updates,
resources and tools across the Department.
Under the Biden-Harris administration,
USDA is engaged in a whole-of-government effort to combat the
climate crisis and conserve and protect our Nation’s lands,
biodiversity and natural resources including our soil, air and
water. Through conservation practices and partnerships, USDA aims to
enhance economic growth and create new streams of income for
farmers, ranchers, producers and private foresters. Successfully
meeting these challenges will require USDA and our agencies to
pursue a coordinated approach alongside USDA stakeholders, including
State, local and Tribal governments.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans
each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris
administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a
greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production,
fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy
and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and
streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food
and forestry practices, making historic investments in
infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and
committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic
barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To
learn more, visit
www.usda.gov.
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