The United States Department of Agriculture has cancelled a $3 billion program for climate-smart farming projects.
It said the program does not align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
Trump has attempted to slash other climate efforts approved during the administration of former president Joe Biden, including a $20 billion funding program for projects that reduce greenhouse gases.
The Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities allocated $3 billion to 135 projects in every state that encouraged soil health, carbon sequestration, reduced methane emissions and other climate-friendly practices, according to a project dashboard on the agriculture departmernt’s website.
Some of the projects included organizations such as the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, companies such as Archer-Daniels-Midland, and trade groups for commodities such as soybeans and rice.
The department said the majority of the projects provided too little money to farmers and too much to administrative costs.
Some projects may be allowed to continue, or grantees can reapply to a reformed version of the program if they prove that a minimum of 65 per cedt of their funds will go to farmers and if they had distributed a payment to a farmer by Dec. 31, the news release said.
