On Earth Day, AgSec Vilsack announced in Des Moines that USDA awarded $6 million to 10 universities to study the effects of climate change on agricultural production and to develop responses to them. “With longer growing seasons and an increased number of extreme weather events, climate-related changes are increasingly posing new challenges and risks for America’s producers,” Vilsack said in a statement.
The largest grant, $1 mln, went to Oklahoma State University. Its project “will provide some of the first climate adaptation tools for beef production systems in the form of water management resources and lead to the development of beef cattle that are adaptable to climate change induced drought,” said USDA.
Also tied to Earth Day, the U.S. Forest Service offered $2.8 mln in grants to “expand wood energy use and support responsible forest management.