By Ryan Hanrahan
Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies and Rebekah Alvey reported Monday that “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is renaming and changing the rules of a $3.1 billion program testing the ability of a variety of conservation practices to produce climate-smart commodities.”
“A USDA release said the Trump administration was canceling the Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program, which it called a ‘Biden-era climate slush fund,’ but said it would allow projects to continue if they can show that ‘a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers,'” Davies and Alvey reported. “‘We continue to support farmers and encourage partners to ensure their projects are farmer-focused or re-apply to continue work that is aligned with the priorities of this administration,’ says USDA’s press release, issued today.”
“The renamed Advancing Markets for Producers initiative will be aligned ‘with current Trump administration priorities,’ USDA’s release says,” according to Davies and Alvey’s reporting. “Specifically, the release said: A minimum of 65% of federal funds must go to producers. Grant recipients must have enrolled at least one producer as of Dec. 31, 2024. Grant recipients must have made a payment to at least one producer as of Dec. 31, 2024.”
“Robert Bonnie, who managed the development of the initiative as USDA’s undersecretary for farm production and conservation in the Biden administration, welcomed the department’s decision to allow projects to continue under modified rules,” Davies and Alvey reported. “‘I’m pleased Secretary Rollins has agreed to extend Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities, largely intact albeit under another name. Don’t let the bombastic statement fool you, Secretary Rollins learned from producers just how popular and effective this program is,’ he told Agri-Pulse.”
What was the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program?
Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “USDA first created the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities in 2022 with a focus on projects that promote commodities grown using practices that lower greenhouse-gas emissions or sequester carbon in the soil. The dashboard for the program remains on USDA’s website, showing projects involved 102 commodities and 198 different farm practices.”
“When USDA initially announced the pilot project in 2022, it was going to be $1 billion, but the partnership then drew 450 project applications,” Clayton reported. “The department then tripled the funding for it.”
“The partnership was meant as a pilot to show what practices can lower emissions but also help farmers either draw a market premium or enroll in a carbon market as well,” Clayton reported. “The funding drew praise from farm groups that had coalesced under the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA). Republicans in Congress criticized USDA for using Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) funds to focus on a climate program.”
“As of last June, a progress report on the partnership detailed the collective grants had enrolled more than 14,000 farmers and 3.2 million acres of working lands,” Clayton reported. “The goal of the Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities was to enroll more than 60,000 farmers and 25 million acres of working lands to sequester more than 60 million metric tons (mmt) of carbon dioxide equivalent.”
Ag Groups Urge Current Contracts to be Honored
Clayton reported that “Sam Kieffer, vice president of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the group has long supported the goals of voluntary, market-driven programs that support farmers and ranchers while helping protect natural resources.”
“‘We are just learning of USDA’s decision and will assess the impact of these changes on growers,’ Kieffer said,” according to Clayton’s reporting. “‘We are grateful the administration is focused on being there and delivering for farmers and ranchers. We also urge USDA to honor contracts already signed where farmers and farmer-led organizations may have already made investments and paid for supplies or services based on the assumption they would be reimbursed by this grant program.'”
“USDA will contact current partners in the program to provide more information about future participation. USDA also will honor expenses incurred before April 13, 2025,” Clayton reported. “‘This reform effort will utilize existing funding, with no new funding made available for these partnerships,’ USDA stated.“
Source : illinois.edu