As many as 20,000 farms may be participating in the Biden administration’s climate-smart agriculture grants by the end of this year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday as the program’s reach continues to expand.
Speaking to the Organic Trade Association, Vilsack said the Agriculture Department’s $3.5 billion climate-smart commodities program — an effort that’s irritated congressional Republicans — continues to make strides toward giving agriculture a bigger role in tackling climate change.
“We saw tremendous interest in this program,” Vilsack said, adding that the contracts already in place cover about 10 million acres of farms and forest. “We expect that number to grow next year and the year after.”
The grants go to universities, trade organizations and other groups that partially match the funds and enlist farmers who produce a range of goods including crops, livestock and timber using techniques that show reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Goods can then be sold as “climate smart,” testing consumers’ appetite for them.
