Program objective

Under the authority of the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Section 766, USDA sought to award states that had established tolerance thresholds for PFAS in food and agricultural products. Maine was the only state to have tolerance thresholds at the time of award. The primary objectives of this Cooperative Agreement are: • Assistance and Indemnification: Assisting agricultural producers affected by PFAS contamination with costs related to mitigating the impacts to their operation that have resulted from such contamination and indemnifying agricultural producers for the value of unmarketable crops, livestock, and other agricultural products related to PFAS contamination. Conducting research on alternative cropping systems, PFAS uptake in crops and livestock to ensure marketable products, the use of systems to mitigate PFAS impacts in agricultural operations, and support for farm management decisions. This may include the development and dissemination of farming operation guidance materials to agricultural producers to assist their actions to address PFAS contamination or the development and dissemination of consumer education materials that support farming operations. • PFAS Testing: Testing of agricultural sites at the request of a producer with known or suspected PFAS contamination, evaluating the capacity of PFAS testing for agriculture, development of testing methods for diverse agricultural matrices and products, and support for lab analysis. Researching and establishing agronomic safety criteria and guidance for farm products, including associated educational materials. These activities will allow the recipient to meet the needs of producers’ current and future requests for PFAS testing of diverse agricultural samples and products.