USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a $1 billion investment in partnerships to support U.S climate-smart farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Feb. 7, 2022 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today at Lincoln University that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is delivering on its promise to expand markets by investing $1 billion in partnerships to support America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

EQIP-CIC is designed to be a stepping-stone between EQIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program

Survey asks producers to provide in-depth information about their operating revenues, production costs, and household characteristics

In November, the US Department of Agriculture approved a program that will open a path for beef producers to market their meat as low-carbon. Producers who can prove that their cattle are raised in a way that emits 10 percent less greenhouse gases than an industry baseline can qualify for the certification scheme, which is run by a private company called Low Carbon Beef.

Helen Price Johnson, RD State Director for Washington - A third-generation small business owner, Helen Price Johnson concluded three terms on the Island County Commission in 2021. She is a past president of the Washington State Association of Counties, a two-term member of the South Whidbey School Board and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Whidbey Community Foundation. In these roles, she worked statewide advocating for small towns, small businesses and rural lands.

“RCPP is public-private partnership at its best,” said Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Terry Cosby. “We’re harnessing the power of partnership to create lasting solutions to global challenges, like climate change, and support producers and communities who have been underserved in the past.”

The USDA is using the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, and the Conservation Stewardship Program, or CSP, to help farmers use methods such as cover crops to sequester carbon.

“Through partnerships like this one, we are ensuring that historically underserved landowners and producers have the tools they need to successfully integrate conservation practices on their forest and agricultural lands,” said NRCS Chief Terry Cosby. “Equity in our programs and services is essential for addressing the unique natural resource needs and challenges across the country.”

NRCS accepts applications for conservation programs – including EQIP and CSP – year-round, however producers and landowners should apply by state-specific, signup dates to be considered for each year’s funding. To apply, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center

A Dec. 6, 2019, rule required that 50% of matching funds from partners be in the form of direct payments, which made it more difficult for diverse types of groups to participate as partners in CREP. With this rule change, partners can now provide their negotiated level of matching funds in the form of cash, in-kind contributions, or technical assistance. This change allows for greater flexibility and opportunity for additional partners to participate in the program.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack underscored the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s support for President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to combating climate change and creating good-paying jobs and economic growth in the United States.

Washington (Funding amount: $1,900,000) Kittitas Reclamation District (Kittitas) Whitestone Reclamation District (Okanogan)

As part of our (USDA) broader efforts on climate change, we are requesting information (comments) from the public on a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Program

The USDA has rolled out a new insurance option specifically for agricultural producers with small farms who sell locally. The new Micro Farm policy, announced last week, simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products.

WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans who represent Western states in Congress called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday to provide more aid to farmers and ranchers battling historic heat, drought and wildfires across the region. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, lawmakers from nine states asked the USDA chief to “explore all potential flexibilities for additional relief,” noting that some Northwest berry growers have reported losing up to 80% of their crops to the heat wave that saw temperatures in the region reach as high as 120 degrees in June. “Although the extent of damages relating to the extreme heat has yet to be fully determined, agricultural producers expect these impacts to be severe,” the lawmakers wrote. “As producers continue to assess losses over the next 18 months, it is likely that the total impact of the heat wave will be much higher than current estimates.”

WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers impacted by extreme drought conditions. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. As part of the Pandemic Assistance initiative announced in March, USDA pledged to continue Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments and to provide aid to producers and businesses left behind. Implementation of the assistance announced today will continue within 60 days to include support to timber harvesters, biofuels, dairy farmers and processors, livestock farmers and contract growers of poultry, assistance for organic cost share, and grants for PPE.

A few weeks ago, USDA climate adviser Robert Bonnie used a variant of “walk before you run” to describe the Biden administration goal of bipartisan support for climate mitigation in agriculture. On Monday, a sector-spanning coalition said the USDA “needs to crawl before it can walk” into a carbon bank that would help farmers adopt climate-smart practices. The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA), a carbon bank advocate, said the USDA should lay the foundation for the climate bank by first setting up a series of pilot projects to identify fruitful avenues for future action. The alliance did not suggest how long the pilot projects would run but said they would aid the development of carbon markets and the direction of the carbon bank.

NOTE: Great interactive map of RCPP projects around the country!

Once officially launched, AIM for Climate will catalyze greater investment in agricultural R&D and innovation to help to raise global ambition and underpin more rapid and transformative climate action in all countries, including by enabling science-based and data-driven decision and policy-making.

“I am grateful to President Biden for announcing his intent to nominate Robert Bonnie to serve as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation with the Department of Agriculture. Robert currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Climate at USDA. He led the USDA Transition Team for the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect..."

THE USDA IS DAYS AWAY FROM ANNOUNCING “GREATER OPPORTUNITIES” FOR LANDOWNERS TO TAKE FRAGILE FARMLAND OUT OF PRODUCTION IN EXCHANGE FOR AN ANNUAL PAYMENT, SAID AGRICULTURE SECRETARY TOM VILSACK ON THURSDAY.