The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Joe Biden in August, allocated nearly $20 billion to support climate-smart agriculture. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is now seeking comments inform how it will implement those funds.

The NRCS on Nov. 21 published a notice in the Federal Register opening a public comment period focused on the implementation of IRA funds to support the deployment of climate-smart practices on U.S. farms, ranches and forestlands through its four Farm Bill conservation programs. NCRS is also requesting input on funding to quantify carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions at the field scale.

The NRCS said it specifically interested in public input and recommendations that it can use to improve, expand, and/or build on scientifically designed quantification systems to monitor and quantify improvements in soil carbon, reductions in nitrogen losses, and the reduction, capture, avoidance or sequestration of carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide emissions, associated with agricultural production.

The comment period is open through Dec. 21. Additional information is available on the Federal Register website.