The USDA is giving Penn State $25M to work with Pa. dairy farmers on combating climate change

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A Penn State-led project is receiving millions of dollars in funding that will enable partners to expand climate-smart markets and work with Pennsylvania dairy farmers to implement climate-smart agriculture.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was at Penn State’s University Park campus last Wednesday to shine light on numerous projects that will receive funding as part of the USDA’s historic investment — up to $2.8 billion — to expand markets for climate-smart commodities. The funding will also leverage greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity productions and provide direct benefits to agriculture production, according to a press release.

Vilsack said farmers are on the front lines of climate changing challenges.

"Those who farm, those who ranch, those who produce and those who own forested lands, they all know too well the ravages of a changing climate. We're dealing with mega droughts. We're dealing with intense and ferocious wildfires. And we're dealing with storms of great intensity. And farmers, ranchers and producers ... take great pride in the fact that they are stewards of our land and they take that duty and that responsibility very seriously," he said.

More than 50,000 farms will be engaged in this initiative, Vilsack said, and it will involve more than 20 million acres. USDA anticipates that from the work that's being done, they'll be able to measure as much as 50 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent being eliminated from farming operations, he said.

Vilsack said 19 of the 70 funded projects will impact Pennsylvania. For that reason, it made sense to make a stop in the commonwealth to discuss the funding. Plus, Penn State is well known for the work they do in dairy, he said, and nine of the projects relate to dairy.

"I'm excited about this opportunity. I'm excited to be here on campus. Penn State's a great land grant university," Vilsack said.

The university's potential funding ceiling for its "Climate-smart Agriculture that is profitable, Regenerative, Actionable, and Trustworthy" (CARAT) project is $25 million. A release states proposals include plans to match, on average, over 50% of the federal investment with nonfederal funds.

Armen Kemanian, professor of production systems and modeling at Penn State, participated in a panel with four other project leaders and Vilsack.

Dairy farm productions produce a lot of nitrogen and methane, Kemanian said. The project will look at just how much is produced on Pennsylvania dairy farms and how to lower it.

"An overarching goal is establishing successful and profitable partnerships between diverse producers, including underserved producers, and consumers, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gases, suppressing CH4 and N20 emissions, and storage of carbon," a press release states.

Project partners include Center for Dairy Excellence, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and Red Barn Consulting, according to a press release. USDA will work with the applicants for the 70 identified projects to finalize the scope and funding levels in the coming months, a release states.