USDA has announced $1 Billion in funding for “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” pilot projects to expand markets for farmer, rancher and forest landowner products and help strengthen rural America. These new pilot projects will create market opportunities for agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.
Funding will be provided to partners through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation for pilot projects to provide incentives to producers and landowners to:
- Pilot implementation of climate-smart agriculture and/or forestry practices on a large-scale, including meaningful involvement of small and/or historically underserved producers.
- Quantify, monitor, report and verify climate results.
- Develop markets and promote climate-smart commodities generated as a result of project activities.
Applications for fiscal year 2022 funding are due by the following dates via Grants.gov, depending on the dollar amount of the projects:
- April 8, 2022, for the first funding pool (proposals from $5 million to $100 million)
- May 27, 2022, for the second funding pool (proposals from $250,000 to $4,999,999)
For more information, read the press release, and view the funding details.