Ag & Range

Photo by Kamryn Kozisek

A trio of Longhorn cattle eat off of a hay bale on a ranch east of Chadron. The USDA is taking projects for agricultural producers to be climate-smart.

USDA announces $1 billion to climate-smart ag

u By Kamryn Kozisek

Ag and Range Editor

On Feb. 7, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the USDA will be investing $1 billion to support climate-smart agriculture for landowners across the U.S.

Funded by Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, applications for pilot projects is open now for 2022 fiscal year.

A USDA press release defined climate smart commodities as “an agricultural commodity that is produced using agricultural (farming, ranching or forestry) practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon.”

Funding will be used on each practice to apply techniques to working land, measure greenhouse gases benefits and promote resulting commodities.

Applications cannot be done for individuals, but instead are for entities. Entities that can apply include county, city, state, special and Native American governments, private, state and public higher education institutions, Native American tribal organizations, profit organizations, nonprofits that have a 501 (c)(3) and those that don’t.

Each proposal needs to contain plans for implementing largescale climate-smart agriculture and involves historically underserved populations, monitor and report climate results, promote climate-smart commodities and help to develop markets for those commodities.

There are two funding pools one for proposals between $5-100 million due April 8 and one for proposals for $250,000-4.9 million due May 27. Proposals can be found on Grants.gov.

There are two funding pools one for proposals between $5-100 million due April 8 and one for proposals for $250,000-4.9 million due May 27. Proposals can be found on Grants.gov.

More information is available on the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities at https://www.usda. gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest owners are leading the way in implementing climate-smart solutions across their operations,” Vilsack said in a USDA press relesase. “Through Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA will provide targeted funding to meet national and global demand and expand market opportunities for climate-smart commodities to increase the competitive advantage of American producers. We want a broad array of agriculture and forestry to see themselves in this effort, including small and historically underserved producers as well as early adopters.

Feb. 10, 2022 | The Eagle | csceagle.com Ag Range&

Kozisek’s catch-and-release Bored? Maybe it’s time to get outside

u By Kamryn Kozisek

Ag and Range Editor

I went to high school in a small town, population 284, 45 miles from the nearest movie theatre and bowling alley.

Even though in many people’s minds we had nothing to do, to me, being less than hour from the Bighorn Mountains, was plenty to do.

While I agree Chadron doesn’t have much to offer in terms of activities for college students, I do think we are sleeping walking past the world around us.

Within 50 miles of Chadron there are some great natural attractions.

There is Chadron State park less than 10 miles away. It is a great place to fish, hike, paddleboat and swim.

The Cliffs Trailhead, east of Chadron is a pretty hike with a great view of the area and could be a nice place to have a picnic.

Near Crawford, Toadstool Geological Park is a cool place to go on a long hike or just explore. You can hike to the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center or explore the 1984 sod-house.

Fort Robinson State Park is another nearby place to go hiking, camping, horseback riding or just view the wildlife. It is also a place with plenty of history and a museum.

A little farther away, the Scottsbluff National Monument. From what I have heard its a cool drive and hike and is on my CSC bucketlist.

Lake Minatare State Recreation Area is a cool area to see, fish or swim.

Smith Falls State Park may be a twohour drive to Valentine, but is well worth seeing. A cool place to go swimming, kayaking or floating or even just sight-seeing. Going the other direction to South Dakota there are plenty of sights to see. There is Wind Cave National Park, which is good even just for the views and the wildlife. You can also take a tour through the cave system. Just past Wind Cave, near Custer, South Dakota is Jewel Cave National Monument another place to explore caves. Jewel cave also has Hell’s Canyon hiking trail which, from what I have heard is worth the hike. Custer State park has a lot to offer, in my opinion. Photo by Kamryn Kozisek From NeeToadstool Geological Park near Crawford at sunset. dle’s Highway to gorgeous lakes. You can feed the burros and just enjoy the wildlife. While they aren’t exactly natural, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments are definitely worth seeing, even if it’s just once. Badlands National Park might be almost three hours away but it is worth the drive. Hiking, wildlife viewing and just driving around are all activities that are hard to regret in this national park. If you are just looking for a day trip or want to explore, Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota is a beautiful place to go sight-seeing. Even in the winter, there are beautiful places to hike and watch the sunset. The thing to understand is that we are surrounded by beautiful places worth exploring, even if there isn’t anything to do in town.

CRP general enrollment open until March 11

u By Kamryn Kozisek

Ag and Range Editor

General enrollment for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which opened Jan. 1 will close March 11.

Other CRP programs including the Continuous CRP enrollment has constant open applications and Grassland CRP opens April 4 and closes May 13.

The FSA pays a yearly payment to agricultural producers and landowners to take land out of agricultural production. Contracts run 10-15 years in length .

In 2021 there were 5.3 million acres in CRP land with 1.9 million in General CRP, 2.6 in Grassland and 902,000 acres in Continuous.

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency CRP program was started by Ronald Regan in 1985 and is based on fighting environmental issues.

According to USDA, CRP improves water quality, soil erosion reduction and habitat for endangered species.

To sign up for CRP producers can contact their local FSA office.

More information about the CRP program is available on the USDA FSA website at https://www. fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/conservation-reserve-program/.

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