SfL’s Vision for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture Solutions Is Taking Root

(Solutions from the Land) ... SfL’s vision for how farmers can bring agricultural solutions to climate challenges has begun to be realized by yesterday’s announcement by Secretary Vilsack that USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities Projects . This is a remarkable and historic accomplishment that ushers in an era of new approaches to enabling agricultural solutions to climate change and other global challenges. Stressing the importance of voluntary and incentive-based agriculture climate solutions, that use innovation and multistakeholder collaboration to produce desired outcomes, Vilsack operationalized a pathway first introduced by Solutions from the Land in our groundbreaking report Developing a New Vision for United States Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation.

All of these elements were embraced in the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the PCSC program and are embedded in the projects selected in the first funding pool.

It was especially rewarding to learn that interest in market mechanisms for producing American agricultural commodities using climate smart systems, practices and partnerships is growing exponentially. In response to their initial $1 billion program offering, USDA received over 1000 applications with funding requests exceeding $20 billion dollars. In the first funding pool reserved for projects ranging from $5 million to $100 million, 350 entities teamed up and submitted 450 proposals. If this isn’t a clear signal that American agriculture is transforming and stepping up to deliver high value ecosystem services, we don’t know what is.

SfL aligned partners were however successful in securing approval of their projects. Solutions for Urban AG, a SfL affiliated project founded by SfL Co-Chair AG Kawamura, is a partner on the Elevated Foods Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities proposal. This project will implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on a large scale across cropland planted to fruits and vegetables, with a particular focus on fresh fruit and vegetable crops. The partners propose to implement practices on hundreds of thousands of acres planted to fruit and vegetables in key growing regions across the United States, and extend the producer reach to urban farmers in Orange County, California, and the Navajo Nation, to meet the needs of small and underserved producers. The lead partner is Elevated Foods Inc. Other major partners besides Solutions for Urban AG include the California Department of Food & Agriculture, World Wildlife Fund, AgLaunch, Understanding Ag, Soil Health Academy, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Feeding the Northwest, CropTrak, Regenified, and Synoptek Primary States. Congratulations to this team for designing this innovative project.

Also approved was Horizon II: A Climate-Smart Future for Corn, Soybean, Livestock, and Renewable Natural Gas Production. This project, under which Sievers Family Farm, operated by Iowa Smart Agriculture Co-Chair Bryan Sievers, is a primary project partner, will enhance climate-smart markets, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve carbon sequestration in the production of corn, soybean, pork, and beef commodities, while creating opportunities for small and underserved producers and benefitting soil health, clean water, flood control, and habitats for native wildlife. The lead partner for Horizon II is Roeslein Alternative Energy, LLC, a funding partner of SfL. Other major partners on this large $80 million project include Biostar Renewables, Conservation Districts of Iowa, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa State University, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Sievers Family Farms, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, Smithfield Foods, The Nature Conservancy, University of Missouri, Verdesian, and Veterans in Agriculture. We congratulate this team of entrepreneurial partners as well.

As the hard work of implementing, monitoring, and measuring outcomes proceeds forward, it will be important to remember that the ultimate outcomes we seek extend far beyond solutions to climate change. Our overarching objective is to demonstrate that agricultural landscapes are platforms for delivering a whole host of ecosystem services that improve livelihoods, health, and well-being. The agricultural renaissance that is being led by innovative farmers, ranchers and foresters is laying the foundation for a world of abundance on many scales, where agriculture produces nutritious food, feed, fiber, energy, healthy ecosystems quality livelihoods and strong rural economies. The only way this will happen is if we get out of our individual silos and work together to achieved shared desired outcomes. READ MORE

Excerpt from Biomass Magazine: Applications for the the first funding pool, which covers proposals from $5 million to $100 million, were accepted through May 6. Applications for the second funding pool, which includes proposals from $250,000 to $4.99 million, were due June 10.

The 70 selected projects selected for funding under the first pool of the program include partners representing a wide range of bioenergy interests, including the Renewable Energy Group, Archer Daniels Midland Co., Mid-America Biofuels, Roeslein Alternative Energy LLC, Biostar Renewables, National Sorghum Producers Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, K-Coe Isom, Conestoga Energy, Kansas Ethanol, CoBank, Marquis Energy, Western New York Energy, High Plains Biochar, Biochar Co-Op, Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc., Sustainable Oils, Bakersfield Renewable Fuels, U.S. Biochar Initiative, Gevo Inc., Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC, Show-Me Energy, various state corn and soybean groups, and others.

One of the 70 projects, led by Roeslein Alternative Energy, focuses in part on renewable natural gas (RNG) production. Another project, led by Gevo, aims to create critical structural climate-smart market incentives for low-intensity corn, as well as accelerate the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Several projects also focus on crops that can be used as biofuel feedstocks, including those focused on sorghum, hemp, camelina, as well as more traditional crops like corn and soybeans.