Minnesota Climate-Smart Seedling Production Network

Notice: _On April 14, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC). The USDA plans to reform the program into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. Contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) for more information on how to apply to the AMP initiative. _

The proposed project plans to work with forest owners to grow a set of climate-adapted tree species resilient to the projected climate futures of Minnesota’s Midwest Broadleaf Forest, and monitor and market the climate-smart commodity. Producers would receive a payment for each tree seedling grown, in addition to assistance with start-up costs, provision of wild-collected tree seed, and cooperatively managed shipping and distribution of seedings.

Seedlings produced as part of this pilot would bear a “Climate-Smart” label and would include native trees selected based on their projected climate capability. The project would provide free training opportunities about tree seed collection and seedling production market opportunities, paying a fair, hourly wage for participating tree seed collectors and provide start-up funds for interested producers, but for whom cost would be a barrier to enter the market.

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