Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announcing first wave of climate-smart grants
Sep 14, 2022
ARLINGTON, VA – Today, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the first wave of grants awarded under the Biden Administration’s Climate Smart Agriculture Initiative. More than a thousand applicants vied for $3.5 billion being made available over the next five years and USA Rice’s project, Rice Stewardship Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, was one of four rice-based projects selected.
“Rice is the ultimate climate smart crop and the tremendous support we received today from USDA is welcome recognition of that,” said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. “USA Rice is the lead partner for this $80 million grant and we look forward to working with Ducks Unlimited and our partners up and down the supply chain to enhance and strengthen the sustainability record of the U.S. rice industry.”
Secretary Vilsack is expected to release more details on the specific programs USDA is interested in advancing later this week.