By Blake Jackson
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has awarded $1.5 million in grants to nine research projects aimed at developing innovative solutions to complex agricultural challenges.
These challenges include climate change, air quality, and the loss of critical water and soil resources.
“Investing in research is the first critical step toward solving today’s most costly and complex challenges,” said Secretary Redding. “This increased research funding will support innovative scientists who are imagining solutions Pennsylvania farmers need to be more profitable, efficient, and sustainable. Governor Josh Shapiro’s new $10 million Agriculture Innovation and Conservation Fund will help put solutions into practice in agriculture businesses to keep Pennsylvania a national and world agriculture leader.”
The grants were funded through the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Fund's Nutrient Management Program and the Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research programs.
The Clean Streams Fund was established with $220 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
The research projects cover a wide range of topics, including air quality studies in mushroom production, climate action strategies for organic dairies, methods for reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment in the Susquehanna River, and the use of hemp to remediate PFAS-contaminated agroecosystems.
In addition to the grant funding, the Shapiro Administration's budget includes $5.1 million for research and development through five Centers for Agriculture Excellence.
This investment will support the implementation of new management methods and technology developed through the research projects.
The grant recipients and their projects include:
- American Mushroom Institute: Air quality study on a Chester County mushroom farm
- Clear Climate Strategies: Charting a path for science-based climate action on organic dairies
- Pennsylvania State University: Various projects on reducing agricultural pollution, assessing the potential for hemp remediation, and enhancing the adoption of reduced-tillage organic grain production systems
- Phospholutions: Use of novel solution to enhance the phosphorous efficiency of manure or solid waste
- Resource Innovation Institute: Informing a 10-year Pennsylvania circular agricultural economy research vision
- Stroud Water Research Center: Carbon stock assessment of planted riparian buffers
- West Chester University: Identifying and quantifying nuisance emissions sources in the mushroom industry
These research projects have the potential to significantly impact Pennsylvania's agriculture sector by providing innovative solutions to pressing challenges and promoting sustainable practices.
Photo Credit: istock-fotokostic
Categories: Pennsylvania, Government & Policy