Date: 07/12/2023
Type: Implementation of IRA
On July 12th, 2023, the Department of Agriculture announced $300 million in funding to improve measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture and forestry. The investments will help quantify the outcomes of climate-smart and regenerative agriculture, a cornerstone of IRA section 21001.
To carry out these tasks, USDA has identified seven key focus areas that reflect the framework outlined by the federal strategy and are based on substantial input from stakeholders:
- Establish and advance a Soil Carbon Monitoring and Research Network with a perennial biomass component;
- Establish and advance a Greenhouse Gas Research Network;
- Expand data management, infrastructure and capacity;
- Improve models and tools for assessing greenhouse gas outcomes at operational, state, regional, and national scales;
- Improve NRCS conservation practice standards and implementation data to reflect greenhouse gas mitigation opportunities;
- Improve temporal and spatial coverage of national conservation activity data; and
- Strengthen the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Assessment Program of USDA.