Southern Piedmont Climate-Smart Project is working with diverse vegetable farmers and farmers markets in the Southern Piedmont area to promote the adoption of climate-smart farming practices and expand markets for the sale of climate-smart commodities through an enhanced incentives program. This project is part of a historic multibillion-dollar investment by the USDA to expand markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture.
50 conventional and 50 organic farms will enroll a portion of their land (1–10 acres each) and manage it according to the program for four years.
Incentives: Cash and non-cash rewards (Program total of $6M)
Objective: Add cover crops to existing vegetable rotations
Monitoring Areas: Greenhouse gas emissions, soil health benefits, economic impacts, social barriers to cover crop adoption
Techniques Studied: Evaluate two different cover crop termination methods
Purpose: Assist farmers in better land and community stewardship
Research Outcomes: Recommendations to USDA for economically and socially supporting farmers in enhancing resilience and adopting climate-smart farming strategies
Questions about the Climate Smart Study?
Contact Dr. Kristie Wendelberger, kristie.wendelberger@rodaleinstitute.org
or read the FAQ’s.
