New Grant Program Puts $150M Annually Toward Climate-Smart Farming, Prioritizing Tribal and Underserved Producers

The Partnerships for Agricultural Climate Action Act is setting up a major new grant program aimed at helping farms fight climate change. Starting in 2026 and running through 2034, this bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $150 million every year on grants for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in the soil, or boost agricultural systems' resilience against extreme weather. The money doesn't go straight to individual farmers, though; it goes to 'covered entities' like state agriculture departments, farmer cooperatives, universities, and Tribal Governments, who then use the funds to help producers on the ground.

The Climate-Smart Farm Toolkit

Think of this program as a federal investment in making farms tougher and cleaner. The grants fund two main types of projects: developing new plans and implementing existing ones. An eligible project must be broadly consistent with USDA conservation practices and aim for at least two outcomes: increased carbon sequestration, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, or increased resilience against weather shocks (like droughts or floods). For example, a local farmer cooperative could get funding to run a demonstration program showing how better nutrient management reduces pollution runoff while also improving soil health, making crops more resilient to dry spells.

Crucially, the bill explicitly allows and prioritizes the use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge—the cumulative, generational wisdom of Indigenous communities regarding food production and the environment. This is a significant move, integrating centuries of deep knowledge into federal conservation efforts, especially for proposals coming from Tribal Government authorities.

Who Gets the Money and How Much?

This bill has specific rules about who gets prioritized and how the money is split up. The Secretary must give priority to proposals that support historically underserved producers—meaning beginning, socially disadvantaged, veteran, and small- or mid-sized family farmers. This is a direct attempt to ensure the benefits of climate-smart agriculture reach those who might otherwise be overlooked.

There are also hard funding mandates: 33% of the total annual funding is specifically reserved for grants going to Tribal Government authorities. This is a major win for Tribal sovereignty and self-determination in agricultural conservation. For implementation grants, a non-Tribal entity must cover 50% of the project cost (a significant hurdle for smaller organizations), but Tribal Governments can receive up to 85% coverage, reflecting a higher level of federal support and flexibility.

The Fine Print: Matching Funds and Discretion

While the program offers substantial funding—up to $15 million per year for an implementation grant—the matching requirements for non-Tribal entities are something to watch. Requiring a 50% match for implementation means that a farmer cooperative applying for a $1 million project will need to secure $500,000 from non-federal sources. This cost-share requirement could be a barrier to entry for smaller or less-funded organizations, potentially favoring larger, more established entities.

Another detail to note is the Secretary’s wide latitude in selecting grant recipients. Beyond the specific criteria (like potential for carbon sequestration), the Secretary can use “other necessary criteria.” While this flexibility might be useful in adapting to changing needs, it grants significant, undefined discretion that could lead to subjective funding decisions if not carefully managed. Ultimately, this bill creates a robust, targeted funding stream for climate action on farms, but success hinges on how the USDA navigates the matching requirements and uses its selection authority to truly prioritize the smaller, underserved producers the bill intends to help.