Pennsylvania dairy farmers are encouraged to prequalify and be considered as one of 70 farms to implement climate-smart improvements through the Climate-Smart Agriculture project, also known as CARAT.

The project is a partnership between Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences; the college’s Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science; the Center for Dairy Excellence; Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania; Red Barn Consulting LLC; Proagrica; and dairy producers. It is supported by funding from USDA Partnerships for Climate Commodities.

Project leader Armen Kemanian, professor of production systems and modeling at Penn State, says the objective of the grant is to identify, implement and monitor climate-smart solutions for Pennsylvania dairy farms.

“The college’s scientists are actively creating and evaluating well-balanced, efficient and climate-resilient solutions aimed at safeguarding our resources, while enhancing productivity and profitability for producers and land managers,” he says. “To establish a robust climate-smart commodities market that appropriately incentivizes producers for their sustainable practices, it is imperative to have a dependable and precise method for valuing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions generated by climate-smart agricultural practices — from measurement to market.”

Dairy farmers can apply for these grants through the Center for Dairy Excellence. About 150 farms will be approved through prequalification to work with a technical service provider to develop climate-smart plans for their operations. Each plan will identify climate-smart practices that could be implemented.

Those plans will be presented to the CARAT review committee for consideration. Be aware that prequalification does not guarantee a farm will be approved as one of the final CARAT participants. Farms will be notified of their eligibility for implementation funding upon approval by the committee.

Jayne Sebright, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence, says funding will be awarded based on herd size. Dairy farms with fewer than 200 cows could receive up to $75,000, while farms with 200 to 500 cows could receive up to $141,000 for implementing climate-smart practices. Farms with more than 500 cows could receive up to $250,000 in implementation funds.

All funding is awarded on a reimbursement basis, meaning expenses must be incurred before receiving the funding. No cost share is required. However, any implementation costs exceeding the amount of funding awarded will be the responsibility of the farm owners, or other funding programs that can be used synergistically.

If accepted into the project, farms will have up to four years to implement the climate-smart solutions. Eligible expenses include engineering, design and permitting costs, and the actual implementation cost of the practices identified in the climate-smart assessment conducted in the prequalification stage.

All farm reimbursements will come through the Center for Dairy Excellence as a subcontractor to the project.

To learn more or to apply, visit centerfordairyexcellence.org.

For more information, contact Melissa Anderson at [email protected] or 717-636-0779.

Additional grants available 

The Center for Dairy Excellence opened two competitive grant programs Sept. 15 for Pennsylvania dairy producers and dairy value-added operations looking to advance their businesses.

Leveraging funds provided through the commonwealth and the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, the grant programs include Dairy Excellence Grants, and Marketing, Branding and Labeling Consultant Grants. Both programs have limited windows to apply.

The Dairy Excellence Grant program is ideal for producers who want to improve cow comfort, milk production per cow or overall efficiency on their dairy. This is a competitive grant that offers up to a 50%, or up to $5,000, maximum matching level of funding to farms approved into the program. Grant applications will only be accepted through Oct. 16, with selections made and winning applicants notified by Oct. 25.

Improvement projects can include anything related to improving milk production per cow or enhancing overall farm profitability and efficiency. Example projects include fans, sprinklers or misters in freestall or tiestall barns; curtains or other ventilation improvements; mattresses or construction to move to deep-bedded sand stalls; variable-speed pulsation; cow brush or foot bath installation; and enhanced feed systems for approved projects.

The Marketing, Branding and Labeling Consultant Grant program is designed for value-added dairy businesses looking to build their brand, develop effective labels, create marketing plans, and identify appropriate strategies to increase product sales and consumer access. If accepted into the program, grant recipients will have access to a consultant who has experience in the value-added space. Dairy value-added businesses in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey can apply.

Up to 11 grants will be awarded. If all 11 grants are utilized, each grant will be for $5,000. Recipients will receive up to $3,750 to work with a consultant, and up to $1,250 for direct implementation of the consultant’s recommendations. Grant applications will only be accepted through Oct. 31.

The grant is made possible by the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center and through the Ag Excellence line in the Pennsylvania state budget.

Dairy farms or businesses must complete an application. A $100 application fee is required upon submission, but it will be reimbursed if the application is not accepted.

To learn more, visit centerfordairyexcellence.org/dairy-excellence-grants or centerfordairyexcellence.org/marketing-branding-grants. Email Melissa Anderson at [email protected] or call 717-636-0779 with questions.