USDA Invests Over $325 Million in 42 Conservation Projects Through Regional Partnership Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on October 26 an investment of over $325 million in 42 projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners boost their operations and conserve natural resources. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said RCPP pairs private investment with federal funds and has recently been streamlined to reduce red tape and increase flexibility for local partners.
In Iowa, the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program will integrate cover crops, forage and biomass plantings and watering systems across western and central Iowa, planting over 300,000 acres of cover crops and delivering reductions of roughly 3.3 million pounds of nitrogen, 336,000 pounds of phosphorus and 1 million tons of soil loss. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig noted the program began as a 2016 pilot in Taylor County and has become a model for other states.
Other projects include longleaf pine forest conservation across 16 counties in southwest Georgia (at least 6,000 acres), coastal tallgrass prairie easements on the Texas Gulf Coast, and Nooksack River salmon habitat restoration in Washington led by the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe across 256 acres. Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Colton L. Buckley said 75 percent of this year's $325 million goes directly to farmers or to implementing conservation practices, and that the funding round included a $30 million set-aside for projects with Indian Tribes.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 艾奥瓦州农田。图片：维基共享资源，开放授权。
