Ag Industry Reacts To USDA's New Rules For $3.1 Billion Climate-Smart Program

On April 14, the USDA announced it was cancelling the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) program and renaming it the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative with a new set of rules.

Introduced under the Biden administration, the $3.1 billion PCSC program included more than 130 projects with the goal to encourage farmers to adopt conservation practices to produce climate-smart commodities. Funds for PCSC have been frozen while the Trump administration reviewed the program.

In a press release, the USDA said, "Following a thorough line by line review of each of these Biden era partnerships, it became clear that the majority of these projects had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers. Select projects may continue if it is demonstrated that a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers."

A minimum of 65% of federal funds must go to producers.

Grant recipients must have enrolled at least one producer as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Grant recipients must have made a payment to at least one producer as of Dec. 31, 2024.