The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) will be one of the initial recipients of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $1 billion climate-smart farming initiative designed to foster increased environmental and conservation efforts, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week.

Visiting the Farm Progress Show in Boone Aug. 30, Vilsack previewed three of the many projects to be funded, which will include not only the ISA project, but also a University of Missouri plan to expand climate-smart markets through resilient cropping and livestock systems as well as a University of South Dakota program to enhance marketing opportunities for live beef and...