URI to receive $510K in grants from USDA to support farms, open space conservation

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island will receive $510,978 in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture program to support agriculture and open space conservation.
The funding was announced in a news release by U.S. Sens. Jack F. Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin.
“I am pleased URI is receiving this federal funding to help share their expertise and further their efforts in support of our agricultural economy,” Reed said. “We need to invest in positive community economic development strategies and protect Rhode Island’s rural areas and open spaces. This NIFA grant will allow URI to work with local communities to develop strategies for sustainable farming and land conservation.”
Whitehouse said Rhode Island farms are an important part of the state’s natural landscape and economy.
“Preserving the land and natural resources they depend on is a smart investment for our state,” Whitehouse said.
Langevin, who recently formed a Food First Advisory Committee to advise him on issues of importance to the farming industry and overall food economy, said the university’s educational programming and research are a resource for many farmers.
Richard Rhodes, associate dean of the URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences, said the grants will be used to understand people’s preferences for open space so that farm and forest lands can be sustained.
“We appreciate the work of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation in helping to secure these funds,” he said.
The majority of URI’s award, $463,096, will be used to create community-level incentives to support farm, forest and open space land conservation in the rural-urban fringe. The remaining $47,882 will be used for a water quality economics workshop.

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