FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2022
ARLINGTON, Va.— The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation has been awarded $3 million in cooperative agreement funding to help underserved farmers improve water quality, habitat resilience and information exchange to benefit the ecosystems within the Gulf of Mexico Watershed. This grant was awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Division.
The NASDA Foundation will award subgrants to recipients in the Ohio-Tennessee Region to provide technical assistance to underserved farmers on how to protect and improve water quality and habitat while also providing benefits for climate mitigation and adaptation. The funds will also be used to implement programs to prevent or reduce water pollution.
The states within the Ohio-Tennessee region are Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and western portions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
“We thank the EPA for recognizing the importance of the NASDA Foundation working to assist farmers in ensuring valuable water quality and habitat resilience technical assistance,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said. “The NASDA Foundation is proud to partner with NASDA membership to identify local partnerships that will collaborate and invest in underserved farm communities.”
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The NASDA Foundation is the only educational and research organization that directly serves the nation’s state departments of agriculture. The NASDA Foundation’s mission is to enhance American food and agricultural communities through education, outreach and research. The NASDA Foundation works with states to nourish people and communities while serving as the stewards of the environment and public trust. To learn more about the NASDA Foundation, please visit nasda.org/nasda-foundation/.
