By Mike Lynn
Photo by Abigail Lynn
Pennsylvania will receive over $900 million in funding for projects that support climate-smart practices.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE | On Friday, September 16, Governor Wolf announced over $900 million in funding for 19 projects that support Pennsylvania farmers using climate-smart practices.
“Agriculture bears the brunt of the impact of climate change, from extreme weather to an environment that is more inviting to invasive pests, plants, and disease,” Gov. Wolf said. “My administration has provided unprecedented support for the industry that feeds and sustains us – as seen through the PA Farm Bill and Clean Streams Fund – and I am pleased that our efforts will be multiplied exponentially with federal support. Farmers cannot tackle climate change alone.”
These projects are intended to expand markets for climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct benefits to production agriculture. The projects also aim to provide technical and financial assistance for putting climate-smart practices in place, develop innovative and cost-effective methods for monitoring, reporting, and verifying greenhouse gas benefits, and develop markets and promote the benefits of commodities grown using climate-smart practices.
Lead partners of the 19 projects based in Pennsylvania or involving PA-based partners include:
- Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation, Inc., $35,000,000
- Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools, $25,000,000
- Truterra, LLC, $90,000,000
- Pennsylvania State University, $25,000,000
- PASA Sustainable Agriculture, $55,000,000
- Farm Journal, Inc., $40,000,000
- American Forest Foundation, $35,000,000
- The Nature Conservancy, $60,000,000
- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, $95,000,000
- The DeLong Co., Inc., $40,000,000
- Low Carbon Beef, LLC, $10,000,000
- Rodale Institute, $25,000,000
- American Farmland Trust, $30,000,000
- Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., $45,000,000
- National Association of Conservation Districts, $90,000,000
- Field to Market, $70,000,000
- American Sustainable Business Institute, Inc., $35,000,000
- The Conservation Innovation Fund, $25,000,000
- Carbon A List, LLC, $70,000,000
These 19 Pennsylvania projects were among 70 selected nationwide, investing $2.8 billion in the first of two rounds of Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding. Pennsylvania-based partners in funded projects include Cargill, Hershey Foods, Land O’Lakes, Danone North America, Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence, Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania State University, PASA Sustainable Agriculture, Stroud Water Research Center, TeamAg, and Red Barn Consulting.
For a full listing of project descriptions and partners involved, visit USDA.gov.
