Who Benefits? A Look at the Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities Preliminary Awards
USDA NRCS TexasIn February 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) first announced details of its Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities (PCSC). The PCSC is a centerpiece of the Biden Administration’s strategy to help farmers and ranchers address climate change. In late 2022 USDA announced further details about projects, and more recently debuted the Partnerships Network. As the PCSC ramps up in earnest, now is an important moment to take stock of where the program stands in spring 2023.
Overview
The Partnerships hold both promise and unanswered questions. The potential of USDA’s largest ever investment in climate-smart agriculture is undeniable, yet the specific details of each Partnership project–from which practices are implemented on which acres and how well, to the types of farmers participating in each project–matter greatly, and remain unknown. As the Partnership projects launch …