CLIM3ATE-RP
California Livestock Methane Measurement, Mitigation, and Thriving Environments Research Program

Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability

The CLIM3ATE-RP (California Livestock Methane Measurement, Mitigation, and Thriving Environments Research Program) is a research funding initiative administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS).

CLIM3ATE-RP was launched with funds from the Budget Act of 2021 (SB 170, Chapter 240) to support applied research that advances California's climate goals and strengthens the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of the state's livestock sector.

Program Focus Areas

CLIM3ATE-RP funds research in three critical areas related to methane emissions and manure management in livestock operations:

  1. Verification of Methane Reduction Strategies

    Supporting work to improve and validate greenhouse gas estimates for projects funded under CDFA's Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) and Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP). This includes evaluating methane reductions resulting from AMMP practices and enhancing quantification tools used in California's climate-smart agriculture programs.

  2. Alternative Methane Reduction Strategies

    Three grants were awarded to advance research on reducing enteric methane emissions (emissions from livestock digestion). These include:

    1. Field studies evaluating seaweed-based feed additives for their potential to reduce methane in livestock digestion.
    2. Nutritional research investigating the potential of by-product feeding as a methane mitigation strategy (Dr. Hess – UC Davis).
    3. Development of a standardized framework for designing and evaluating enteric methane research protocols (Dr. Kebreab – UC Davis), creating more consistency and comparability across studies.
  3. Manure Recycling and Innovative Product Development

    Aligned with recommendations from the CDFA-OARS MRIP Working Group, a grant was awarded to FYTO to explore the use of Lemna (duckweed) for nutrient recovery from digester effluent. This project addresses both methane reduction and nitrogen management by transforming digestate into a nutrient-dense biomass—offering a sustainable, circular solution rooted in science and innovation.

In the 2022 funding cycle, CDFA awarded six research projects totaling $4.7 million in funding.

Note. The application period for the 2022 cycle closed on February 28, 2023.

For Award Recipients

Awarded projects should refer to the following guidance document:

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