05/25/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/25/2023 11:06
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8 million in four partnerships to support and expand measurement and monitoring of carbon in soil on working agricultural lands and to assess how climate-smart practices are affecting carbon sequestration. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will work with Iowa State University, Michigan State University, American Climate Partners and University of Texas at El Paso on regional projects on soil organic carbon stock monitoring.
The selected partners will support implementation of a new Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity (CEMA) offered by NRCS, which provides financial assistance to producers for measuring soil organic carbon stocks before and after the implementation of a conservation practice or conservation plan. A qualified individual will use a hydraulic probe or excavation method to sample soil to one meter depth or restrictive layer. The soil will then be tested for organic carbon and bulk density to provide organic carbon stock levels to farmers and ranchers. These partners will play a critical role in training individuals on the sampling methodology and informing producers about the CEMA opportunity.
"Healthy soils are a powerful tool when it comes to sequestering carbon. These partners will enhance our measurement tools and eventually become part of our program delivery to advance quantification of the effects that climate-smart agricultural practices have on carbon sequestration," NRCS Chief Terry Cosby said. "Soil health management practices and activities are a tremendous part of our strategy when it comes to climate-smart agriculture and forestry."
NRCS is funding four regional agreements:
All the selected projects include a strategy to reach equity in program delivery in underserved communities by encouraging diverse producers to participate in soil carbon monitoring and other NRCS conservation activities. Project partners will deliver training on soil sampling for soil organic carbon and bulk density, data collection, management and processing methods, and conduct outreach to producers to encourage use of NRCS' soil carbon monitoring activity.
This work will complement existing soil carbon monitoring efforts at USDA, including USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) investment of $10 million in in its Monitoring, Assessment and Evaluation effort to sample, measure and monitor soil carbon on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to better quantify the climate outcomes of the program. Both CEMAs and the CRP MAE effort will contribute to a larger USDA measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification (MMRV) strategy to improve the climate outcomes of USDA programs and enhance USDA's greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for the agriculture and forestry sectors at the national, programmatic, and field scales. This strategy also includes new investments in quantification under the Inflation Reduction Act [including to support a National Soil Carbon Monitoring Network] and MMRV efforts within Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities projects, all of which will continue to support the broader goals of USDA's GHG Inventory and Assessment Program and wider MMRV work.
Today's announcement reflects the goals of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out - from rebuilding our nation's infrastructure to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating good paying jobs and building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America's food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.