Some $3.1 billion — three times more than originally planned — will be spent on 141 pilot projects to offer incentives that encourage producers to adopt climate-mitigating practices on working lands. “The game’s changing. Farming is no longer about what food is produced; it’s also about how food is produced,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “The world is demanding more sustainable products across the board.”
USDA said 29 projects involving 45 major commodities in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program were already active. Vilsack said negotiations were complete with the majority of 70 projects selected last fall for $2.8 billion in support. “We’re looking forward to seeing these projects hit the ground running now to enroll farmers and landowners in these exciting efforts.”
USDA announced a “learning network” that will share information about which project practices and approaches are successful. “We plan to make available our findings from this effort so that we can all work together to make the most climate-smart commodity markets move forward,” said Vilsack.
When in full operation, the projects will involve more than 60,000 farms and 25 million acres of working lands, including woodlands, using such practices as nutrient management and cover crops to sequester a combined 60 MMT of carbon in the soil and in trees, said USDA. The projects will run from one to five years.
