Considering Applying for a USDA Climate Smart Ag Grant? Let’s Connect!

  • On February 17, 2022

Last week, USDA announced a $1 billion investment in partnerships to support America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers and forest landowners. The new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities opportunity will finance pilot projects that create market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits. If you’re considering applying, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to Janae Brady at jbrady@betterseed.org so we can learn more about your project and discuss any ways that ASTA can potentially support.

Funding will be provided in two funding pools, and applicants must submit their applications via grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on:

  • April 8, 2022 for the first funding pool (proposals from $5 million to $100 million), and
  • May 27, 2022 for the second funding pool (proposals from $250,000 to $4,999,999).

For more details, see USDA’s press release.

ASTA submitted comments in November as part of USDA’s request for public comment to help guide the development of the program. In a press release issued on February 7, the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA), of which ASTA is a member, commended USDA for advancing this voluntary, incentive-based approach to climate-smart practices on working lands.