File photo
File photo
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) announced the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been granted $1.9 million in federal funds.
According to the congressman's website, the award is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Innovation Grants On-Farm Trials program and will be used to implement trial demonstrations focused on improving soil health for farming in the region.
“Farmers in rural America are essential to our nation” Cuellar said. “We depend on agriculture to strengthen our economy and provide domestically grown sources of food for the American public. This funding will allow for UT-RGV to collaborate on research as well as test innovative, progressive conservation tactics in order to find ways in sustaining vital resources. As a senior member on the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to ensure that we fund programs that enable our Institutions of Higher Education to work with various stakeholders in researching and implementing cutting-edge practices."
For this project, UT-RGV will collaborate with Texas State University and the National Center for Appropriate Technology to conduct On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials to focus on the long-term regional implementation and evaluation of cover crops and improved or reduced tillage practices in degraded, subtropical soils on arid, water-limited farms.
Researchers will select historically underserved farmers in the region to receive technical and financial assistance to improve soil health.
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