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Vilsack teases grants from USDA’s Climate Smart Program at FPS

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says grants from USDA’s Climate Smart Commodities Program will increase resilience, expand market opportunities, and strengthen rural America.

Vilsack said requests from more than 1,000 applications topped $20 billion.

“It said to me that we are really on to something here.  Our farmers and ranchers are really interested in creating new revenue streams.  They’re interested in reducing their greenhouse gas input. They’re interested in figuring out ways to be more productive. They can improve soil health.  They can improve water quality They can improve livestock quality.”

Vilsack announced three grant recipients during the Farm Progress Show on Tuesday.

The University of Missouri will work with farmers to build climate-resilient cropping and livestock systems.

“Most of the climate-smart practices will be incentivized in this project and will contribute to building better soil health, sequester more soil carbon.  While the nutrient management approaches will result in reduced fertilizer use and the impacts of fossil fuels and nitrous oxide.”

South Dakota University is funding market opportunities for live beef and bison commodities that will use climate-smart grazing and land practices.

“They’re plan is to quantify, monitor and verify carbon and GHG benefits associated with climate-smart agricultural production in relation to practices on beef and bison.”

The Iowa Soybean Association will work with producers implement climate-smart practices on millions of acres of corn, soy and wheat to market those crops with companies like Pepsi.

“Producers in this program are going to receive outcome-based payments where implementation of practices such as no and low-till, cover crops, nutrient management, diverse crop rotation ect.  This project will allow them to, in turn, to market those products.”

Targeted areas include: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Vislack says other grant recipients will be announced the week of September 13th.

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