Twelve Pennsylvania dairy producers will join peers from 11 other states in a large-scale project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help farmers reduce greenhouse gases produced by manure.
“We want to help farmers and ranchers make important and innovative contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Wednesday. “These grants are designed to test and verify exciting new approaches to greenhouse gas reduction that other conservation-minded producers will want to put to work on their operations.”
The $1.1 million project will enable the Illinois-based Dairy Science Institute Inc., a nonprofit industry group, to help farmers devise a plan to diminish emissions of greenhouse gases and nitrogen.
The project will involve at least 12 dairy producers in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Idaho, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon and Washington.
A broad range of producers will be chosen, including small- and large-scale dairies, dairy producers growing their own crops and conventional and organic dairies, according to the Dairy Science Institute. The participating dairies will be known during the next federal fiscal year, which begins in October.
Projects developed using the grant aim to demonstrate how farmers can reduce greenhouse gases while developing markets to compensate farmers for their stewardship activities.
