Rice Stewardship Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities

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. _

This project will build climate-smart rice markets and work to reduce methane emissions in rice production through the adoption of alternate wetting and drying, furrow irrigation, and other climate- smart practices and support underserved producers by improving critical infrastructure necessary to implement climate-smart practices in the future. This project plans to work with Black and underserved producers to leverage over 60 Climate-Smart practices and scenarios.

USA rice plans to work with monitoring partners to certify quantified emission reductions for grain produced through this pilot and promote marketing assistance.

Rice producers in the six participating states — Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas — who enroll through the USA Rice–Ducks Unlimited Rice Stewardship Partnership. You do not apply to USDA for this; you sign up with the partnership, state by state, and each state runs its own funding pools with its own practice rates. Individual producers are the intended applicant.

The producer test. Per USA Rice: "In order to be eligible for an incentive payment as a part of the Advancing Markets for Producers, a producer must:"

• "Establish Farm Records with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) (have farm, tract, and field numbers in place)" — and "Producers must use the same name as is included in the relevant FSA Business File for that Farm ID."

• "Complete a CCC-902 and AD 2047 (Customer Data Worksheet to facilitate the collection of customer data for Business Partner Record)"

• "Certify highly erodible land conservation (HEL) and wetland conservation (WC) compliance via Form AD 1026"

• "Certify that they are not a foreign person or entity"

• "And demonstrate that the applicant will have control of the land for the term of the contract."

Two limits that bind elsewhere do not bind here. "Producers are not bound by the payment limitations and the adjusted gross income (AGI) limitations that are in place for other USDA programs." There is no published per-producer award ceiling.

The paperwork is a hard gate, not a formality. "Any applications submitted with missing documents will be considered incomplete and ineligible." You must submit, at the same time as the application form: a copy of FSA maps of offered acres with farm, tract and field listed; the FSA Producer Farm Data Report (PFDR); a current-year FSA Subsidiary Print as proof of HEL and WC compliance; and "Copy of FSA 578 Forms for offered acres from past 6 years." If funded, you must resubmit a current Subsidiary Print for every crop year you receive a payment.

No acreage minimum, years-of-experience minimum, or audience restriction (beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged) is published on the eligibility page, though the underlying project was designed in part to "support underserved producers."

Timing — no signup is currently open. PCSC was cancelled by USDA on April 14, 2025 and this partnership continues under Advancing Markets for Producers, but every state signup listed on the AMP page has closed: Louisiana Feb 23, 2024; Texas Mar 15, 2024; Arkansas and Missouri Mar 22, 2024; Mississippi Mar 29, 2024; California Aug 15, 2024; and the second funding pools in AR, LA, MS, MO and TX on Aug 30, 2024. Meeting the criteria above does not get you enrolled until a new pool opens. Ask before you plan around it — Josh Hankins, (501) 398-6678, jhankins@usarice.com, or the Ducks Unlimited biologist listed for your state on the AMP page.

Per-acre and per-unit incentive payments for adopting climate-smart rice practices, set by a published practice tier table for each of the six participating states. Under AMP, "the USA Rice – Ducks Unlimited Rice Stewardship Partnership will be able to offer over $70 million in additional financial assistance to U.S. rice producers," with "a suite of over 30 practices to choose from to fit the needs and capabilities of their operation."

Rates are per practice, not a single award. From the FY24 Arkansas tier table (each state publishes its own, and rates differ by state):

• Tier I emissions reduction — Alternate Wetting & Drying (EQIP 449): $42.12/acre; Furrow Irrigated Rice (CSP E449E): $54.66/acre

• Tier II production efficiencies — Nutrient Management (EQIP 590): $35.50/acre; Integrated Pest Management (EQIP 595): $57.44/acre; No-Till/Strip-Till (EQIP 329): $20.20/acre; Advanced IWM ≥30 acres (EQIP 449): $19.38/acre; Agricultural Energy Assessment (EQIP 228): $2,875.80–$5,109.24 per assessment

• Tier III short-term set-aside — Cover Crop, Basic (EQIP 340): $80.13/acre; Pollinator Species conservation cover (EQIP 327): $733.64/acre; Riparian Forest Buffer (EQIP 391): $723.01/acre; Filter Strip (EQIP 393): $634.17/acre; Shallow Water Development (CSP E646A–D): $26.43–$65.35/acre

• Tier IV infrastructure (historically underserved farms) — Irrigation Pipeline (EQIP 430): $19.05–$587.11/ft depending on material and size; Pumping Plant (EQIP 533): rates span $126.05–$8,719.76 but on three different units — $126.05 per brake hp for a variable frequency drive, $408.42 per brake hp for an electric pump >75 hp and $569.71 per brake hp for >30–75 hp, $862.44–$7,660.33 each for basic-through-advanced pump automation, and $8,719.76 per kilowatt for a photovoltaic-powered pump <4 kW; Flow meters, variable frequency drive and pump automation are "the only Tier IV eligible practices for General applicants, provided they are implemented in conjunction with other Climate-Smart practices"

No per-producer award ceiling is published, and notably: "Producers are not bound by the payment limitations and the adjusted gross income (AGI) limitations that are in place for other USDA programs."

Enrollment requires FSA farm records, a completed CCC-902 and AD-2047, AD-1026 HEL/WC certification, and proof "that the applicant will have control of the land for the term of the contract." All FY2024 state signup pools have closed; the published rate tables are FY24 and rates should be re-checked when a new signup opens.