USDA: Strong Interests in Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities

The Department of Agriculture says the first round of funding through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities received more than 450 proposals ranging from $5 million to $100 million each. 

The deadline for the proposals closed on Friday. The applications USDA received came from more than 350 groups across various sectors. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the “funding opportunity has created tremendous interest from a diverse cross-section of groups from across the country.” 

Proposals in the first funding pool include large-scale pilot projects that emphasize the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production and include direct, meaningful benefits to a representative cross-section of production agriculture. 

Over the next few months, USDA will evaluate the applications and rank them based on the technical criteria provided in the funding opportunity. 

Awards for the first round of funding are anticipated later this summer. The deadline for the second round of funding is Friday, June 10, 2022.

(Story Courtesy of the NAFB News Service)