Vilsack Rolling Out New Climate-Smart Conservation Practices

FORT COLLINS, CO – Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a comprehensive set of investments by USDA aimed at supporting drought resilience, animal disease prevention, market disruption relief, and updates for school nutrition programs.

Speaking at Colorado State University’s Salazar Center’s Virtual International Symposium for Conservation Impact, he explained the $3 billion investment will be made available via the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

Vilsack also announced a new initiative to finance the deployment of climate-smart farming and forestry practices through the marketing of climate-smart agricultural commodities.

Using a set of pilot projects to provide incentives to implement climate-smart conservation practices on working lands while quantifying and monitoring the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits associated with those practices.

USDA is accepting comments on the new Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative and is seeking input specifically on the current state of climate-smart commodity markets, systems for quantification, options and criteria for evaluation, use of information collected, potential protocols, options for review and verification, and inclusion of historically underserved communities.

Comments must be made, via the Federal Register by midnight on November 1, 2021.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)