USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would spend $1 billion to support farmers, ranchers and forest owners who use climate-friendly practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and capture carbon.

This investment is made by President Joe Biden called on U.S. farmers to lead the way in offsetting emissionsHe pledged that he would cut emissions from agriculture by half by 2030. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 10% U.S. emission comes from this sector. A range of public and private entities can apply for grants from $5 million to $100 million, the agency said, including state, local and tribal governments, non-profits, small businesses and colleges.

For the many U.S. Farmers who endured major losses from worsening floods, storms, and droughtsIt is now essential to address climate change. Panel of experts from United Nations on Climate Change has warnedHumans must adapt the way that they produce food, and how they use land in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

“They’ve seen it, they feel it and they’ve been hurt by it,” Vilsack said on Monday at Lincoln University, a historically Black land-grant university in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Some ranchers, foresters and farmers have adopted climate-friendly techniques that store carbon in the soil. Some are worried about the upfront cost and uncertain returns which can vary between farms.

Vilsack stated that he wanted to encourage the production of climate-smart commodity that have higher market value that can be used by farmers for additional profits.

“This is about creating domestic markets that will provide American agriculture and forestry with the resources to do what they know to do best — to feed the world, while serving as great stewards of our land and water.”

Projects that use climate-friendly conservation techniques, like no-till cover crops or rotational grazing will be the focus of USDA’s programs. They also measure greenhouse gas emissions and carbon capture and storage.

According to the agency, a climate-smart product is one that has been produced by farming, ranching and forestry methods that reduce emissions or store carbon.

The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program will take money from the agency’s Commodity Credit Corporation, which provides up to $30 billion in annual funding from the the U.S. Treasury to support farm income.