HARRISBURG, Pa. — Dairy farmers are encouraged to apply to pre-qualify and be considered as one of 70 farms to identify and implement climate-smart improvements through the Climate-Smart Agriculture that is profitable, Regenerative, Actionable, and Trustworthy project.
Known as CARAT, the project is a partnership between Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the college’s Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science, the Center for Dairy Excellence, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, Red Barn Consulting LLC, Proagrica, and dairy producers. The project is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnerships for Climate Commodities.
Project leader Armen Kemanian, professor of production systems and modeling at Penn State, explained that the objective of the grant is to identify, implement and monitor climate-smart solutions for Pennsylvania dairy farm operations.
“The college’s scientists are actively creating and evaluating well-balanced, efficient and climate-resilient solutions aimed at safeguarding our resources while enhancing productivity and profitability for producers and land managers,” he said. “To establish a robust climate-smart commodities market that appropriately incentivizes producers for their sustainable practices, it is imperative to have a dependable and precise method for valuing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions generated by climate-smart agricultural practices, from measurement to market.”
Dairy farm families can apply for these grants through the Center for Dairy Excellence. Approximately 150 dairy farms will be approved through pre-qualification to work with a technical service provider to develop climate-smart plans for their operations. Each plan will identify climate-smart practices that could be implemented in the individual dairy farm operation.
Those implementation plans will be presented to the CARAT review committee for consideration. Pre-qualification does not guarantee that a farm will be approved as one of the final CARAT participants. Farms will be notified of their eligibility for implementation funding upon approval by the committee.
According to Jayne Sebright, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence, implementation funding will be awarded based on herd size. Dairy farm operations with fewer than 200 cows could receive up to $75,000, while farms with 200 to 500 cows could receive up to $141,000 for implementing climate-smart practices. Farms with more than 500 cows could receive up to $250,000 in implementation funds.
“We’re pleased to participate in this significant project,” Sebright said. “Penn State’s collaborations with producer associations and private industry partners will enable the creation of an efficient and user-friendly implementation program, further enhancing our established reputation for trust and expertise in engaging with a wide range of stakeholders. Penn State contributes scientific expertise while we bring our valued partnerships to the forefront.”
All funding is awarded on a reimbursement basis, meaning expenses must be incurred before receiving the funding. No cost share is required to participate in this program. However, any implementation costs exceeding the amount of funding awarded will be the responsibility of the farm owners or other funding programs that can be used synergistically.
If accepted into the CARAT project, farms will have up to four years to implement the climate-smart solutions. Eligible expenses include engineering, design and permitting costs and the actual implementation cost of the practices identified in the climate-smart assessment conducted in the pre-qualification stage.
All farm reimbursements will come through the Center for Dairy Excellence as a subcontractor to the project.
“CARAT builds on nearly 30 years of research and stakeholder engagement through Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences in developing and testing different climate-smart practices,” said Blair Siegfried, associate dean for research and graduate education in the college. “In line with the USDA’s vision for this endeavor, we aspire to catalyze the development of resilient farming communities seamlessly engaged in the mission to mitigate greenhouse gas accumulation, encompassing every aspect from agricultural production to end consumers.”
To learn more or apply to pre-qualify, visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.
Further information may be obtained by contacting Melissa Anderson at manderson@
–Amy Duke, Penn State University
