The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected nearly two dozen projects that will impact California under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. A total of $2.8 billion is being invested in 70 projects nationwide. In USDA’s breakdown of projects by state, a total of 21 projects in California have an approximate funding ceiling of $872.5 million.
Proposals sought funding support ranging from $5 million to $100 million. The California Dairy Research Foundation will be leading a project to provide financial incentives for producers to adopt climate-smart manure management practices. The project has a funding ceiling of $85 million. Another substantial project being funded is the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program led by the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. A total of $90 million will be used to provide technical and financial assistance to cotton farmers to further the adoption of climate-smart practices.
Truterra, LLC will be using a $90 million award for the Climate SMART (Scaling Mechanisms for Agriculture’s Regenerative Transformation) project. The goal of the project is to help support practices to more sustainably produce grain and dairy commodities with quantifiable climate benefits. Another multistate project has been awarded $90 million and will be led by the National Association of Conservation Districts. The project seeks to advance efforts to ensure producers and local communities are fully prepared to engage with climate-smart commodity markets.
A total of 450 proposals were submitted to the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities for the first round of funding. The California Department of Food & Agriculture will be partnering in a project led by Elevated Foods that was awarded $20 million. The project focuses on climate-smart production of fresh fruit and vegetable crops. Blue Diamond Growers will also be leading a project that has been awarded $45 million. The project promotes regenerative almond production and aims to expand market opportunities.
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