Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture wins $7.85M USDA grant

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Program announced Friday that it won a $7.85 million competitive top grant to support climate-smart conservation on Pennsylvania farms.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awarded the funding, which will be leveraged as part of the state’s $12.8 million investment in preserving farms and would support farms that implement and measure the impact of practices that address climate change.

“Climate change is presenting serious challenges to the farmers who feed us and feed our economy,” Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said. “Pennsylvania has invested heavily in protecting farmland from development and making farming practices more sustainable and farms more resilient. We have been creative in multiplying those investments to have an even greater impact on our future food supply and economy. We’re grateful to the USDA for recognizing Pennsylvania’s efforts, and we’re proud that our state is a national model of innovative conservation.”

The grant will fund projects to install climate-smart practices on preserved farms. The department said each farm will present measures and practices targeted to meet specific climate challenges. Funds will also support producers interested in transitioning to organic production through the PA Farm Bill-funded PA Preferred Organic Program.

The grant was one of 41 regional conservation projects totaling $197 million to match local funds. Farmland preservation funds serve as the matching contribution.

The new federal dollars will join funding provided by the state budget for conservation investments, including $220 million in the new Clean Streams Fund, $154 million to fund the new Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program, and $22 million to increase funding for the Nutrient Management Fund.