The Rodale Institute has received a $500,000 grant through a state effort to support research important to growing Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry.
The Maxatawny Township nonprofit will used the funding to prepare a skilled workforce and foster understanding of sustainable farming methods.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced that the Rodale grant was among more than $2.2 million in funding for 17 research proposals on issues critical to sustaining and growing Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry.
He said the funded projects will help Pennsylvania agriculture continue growing and keep pace with changes in technology, climate, diseases and the marketplace.
“Research is step one to developing the innovations Pennsylvania agriculture needs to stay at the cutting edge of the industry,” he said in a release. “These research grants are a key element of the Shapiro administration’s strategy of targeting investments where they are needed to keep Pennsylvania agriculture growing, feeding our economy and leading the nation.”
In addition to the research grants, earlier this month, Gov. Josh Shapiro invited applications for the second round of funding through Pennsylvania’s $20 million Agricultural Innovation Grant Program. The first-of-its-kind in the nation, the program is working to put new solutions and technologies in action to grow the future of American agriculture in Pennsylvania.
