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USDA announced the awardees of the climate-smart grant program and we’re taking action to renew the SBIR/STTR seed-funding programs before they expire on Sept. 30. Meanwhile, a busy day in D.C. with the White House Summit on the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative and hearings on monkeypox and soil health. (590 words, 2 minutes, 57 seconds) |
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USDA triples Climate-Smart grant program, names first awardees |
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USDA announced today it will invest up to $2.8 billion in 70 pilot projects under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity.
Funding triples: USDA originally set to give out $1 billion, but after receiving 450 proposals and seeing “the strength the projects identified,” the White House “increased the total funding allocation to more than $3 billion, with projects from the second funding pool to be announced later this year,” USDA says.
The funded pilots show the way to generate new streams of income for farmers, ranchers, and foresters with “climate smart commodities,” produced through agricultural practices that “reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon,” we previously reported.
So, who won? A few examples of awardees, to be listed here in full, include projects USDA says will: - “use innovative finance mechanisms to accelerate climate-smart practice” by “leveraging private sector demand;”
- “connect the on-farm greenhouse gas reductions with the low-carbon dairy market opportunity”;
- “build climate-smart markets” with soil inventories and “modeling to make impact quantifications accurate;”
- encourage climate-smart beef and bison production;
- develop “climate-smart markets for timber and forest products.”
BIO’s take: The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA)—BIO’s a member—“appreciates USDA's use of Alliance recommendations as a guidepost,” says FACA’s press release, which praises “meaningful inclusion of early adopters and small and underserved producers in the program. The Alliance is pleased that the projects selected recognize differences between regions, farm size and forest type, and diversity of production in the United States.” |
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We need to save innovation-driving SBIR/STTR seed funding |
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With time running out, BIO is urging Congress to act before the Sept. 30 deadline to renew the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs, which have funded thousands of vital innovations in the last 40 years.
Creating new drugs: From 1996-2020, more than 11% of New Molecular Entity drugs, 15% percent of New Biologic Approvals, and 16% of “priority review” drugs receiving FDA approval were developed by SBIR/STTR grantees, according to a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report.
Many BIO members have used the program to further game-changing developments in cancer, Alzheimer’s, women’s health, biofuels, and countless other areas—read about some of them here.
SBIR is a staple in American innovation and is an important tool for BIOs emerging companies as they develop new treatments that help patients worldwide.
What can you do?Tell your Member of Congress you support the SBIR/STTR programs and ask them to renew them by Sept. 30.
How the programs work: SBIR/STTR typically give between $250,000-$750,000 during the “seed funding” stage, when ideas with great potential need to prove their commercial value to draw private investment.
NIH and USDA rely on the programs: The National Institutes of Health has the second-largest SBIR/STTR program, totaling $1.2 billion, and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture also gives out substantial funding. The largest SBIR/STTR programs are run by the Department of Defense, which urges its continuation.
A return on investment: A Defense assessment found SBIR/STTR returns 22:1 on the taxpayer dollar, while NAS “found a commercialization rate of between 50-60% for SBIR/STTR investments,” according to the Arizona Bioindustry Association. Click here to take action and save these important seed-funding programs. |
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President Biden’s Wednesday: Announcing investment in electric vehicle charging stations during a speech promoting EVs at the Detroit Auto Show, per CNN. Meanwhile, BIO will be attending the White House Summit on the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative today—catch up here and stay tuned for a recap tomorrow.
What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The Senate HELP Committee’s hearing on the federal response to monkeypox will feature ASPR Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O' Connell, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci. The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on soil health practices and programs that support regenerative agriculture. |
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