Grants

New Tool Helps Farmers, Ranchers Identify Conservation Incentive Programs

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:55:23 GMT

Conservation incentive programs that fit your farm and specific agronomic practices and/or livestock are not always easy to identify and sign up for online.

But those hurdles could soon be problems in the past, thanks to a new online platform, the Conservation Connector, which was just launched this week by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)

The new tool allows farmers, ranchers, and farm advisers to easily evaluate conservation incentive programs and connect with technical support at one online site, according to Ryan Heiniger, CTIC executive director.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Heiniger says he knows firsthand how challenging it can be to identify programs, companies and the individuals in charge of them who can provide more details in a phone call or an email.

“You might visit four or five government offices and a dozen websites, only to collect bits and pieces of information on those programs that would be a good fit for you. Our goal with the Conservation Connector is to bring all of that under one roof, so to speak, to help farmers, ranchers and advisers more easily find what is available in their area and fits with their needs,” Heiniger says.

The platform currently has around 500 programs and service providers in the Midwest that are participating, Heiniger says. He notes the tool is continually updated with the latest program offerings from trusted agencies, organizations and conservation partners. In addition, Connector.ag has no associated costs for farmers, ranchers and advisers to use.

“I want to underscore that it’s free for farmers; none of the information is behind any kind of paywall,” he says. “It’s also free for people who want to create a listing.”

The Conservation Connector is easy to navigate – it’s searchable by geography, commodity, incentive type, and/or management practice.

“We’ve made it easy for people who are on a specific mission to filter through,” Heiniger says. “You might be in New York looking for help with pasture renovation, and you don’t want or need to see what programs are available in Iowa. So, you can default right to New York. Or, you can default to a specific crop. The filters can help you ratchet down to the specific information you want to dive deeper into.”

Heiniger says the idea for Conservation Connector originated from Houston Engineering, the Nature Conservancy, and Open Team, and the CTIC invested the past 18 months in developing it.

CTIC invites farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, and conservation partners across the country to explore the platform at Connector.ag . You can provide feedback about your experience to help inform future iterations of the platform here .

USDA Ends Consideration of Race, Gender in Many Farm Programs

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 15:44:14 GMT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an about face on Thursday with regard to how it will consider farmer applications for loans and programs, moving forward.

Specifically, the agency says it will no longer consider a farmer’s gender or race in the decision-making process for how dollars in such programs will be awarded.

The decision ends a longstanding effort by the agency and the Trump administration to address bias and discrimination.

“Moving forward, USDA will no longer apply race- or sex-based criteria in its decision-making processes, ensuring that its programs are administered in a manner that upholds the principles of meritocracy, fairness, and equal opportunity for all participants,” said acting General Counsel Ralph Linden.

According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, roughly 4.5% of farmers are considered persons of color or of mixed race.

The New Rule Is In Effect

While many rules are posted as a draft first for public comment, agency officials posted this rule in its finalized form without soliciting input. The rule went into effect immediately, July 10.

“These actions collectively support the conclusion that past discrimination has been sufficiently addressed and that further race- and sex-based remedies are no longer necessary or legally justified under current circumstances,” a consortium wrote in the Federal Register.

The groups weighing in included: Office of the Secretary, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Commodity Credit Corporation, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

Trump Administration Dismantles DEI Policies

The new rule is part of the Trump administration’s directives to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the federal government.

In a prepared statement, USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins reprimanded former President Joe Biden and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, respectively, for looking at “any way possible to give taxpayer dollars to anyone they could based on the color of their skin, not based on merit or need.”

Rollins added, as long as she is Secretary of Agriculture, “when we find leftover Biden discrimination in our programs, we will hold those persons who have committed these insidious acts accountable and take swift action to correct these illegal actions.”

Previous Lawsuits Played A Role

In making the new rule, USDA referenced various lawsuits over its prioritization of racial groups.

Black farmers and other groups in agriculture have long alleged discrimination in the agency’s lending and farm programs. As recently as 2024, the USDA made payments to tens of thousands of farmers who experienced past bias.

In addition, white farmers, some backed by prominent Republicans, have sued the agency, claiming discrimination.

Your next read: Is This The Starting Point for A New Farm Bill?

Is Regenerative Agriculture Real?

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 01:33:12 GMT

Recently, I spoke to an investor looking for a fund to help farmers transition to regenerative agriculture. The investor thought there was a clear set of procedures to give farmers a measurable reward in a predictable amount of time. This line of thinking is common, but there currently is not a generally recognized standard that is “regenerative.” There are practices that might work in one location but not another, and there have been attempts to measure and monetize components, such as carbon credits.

Building soil health and cutting inputs will have huge long-term benefits, but there isn’t a standardized premium to index potential near-term ROI, especially for third-party investors.

Farming Is Changing

At a recent regenerative agriculture conference (of which the primary attendance was not farmers), a farmer recalled a conversation he overheard between two relatives weighing the pros and cons of adopting no-till farming practices. The audience was amazed this conversation took place 45 years ago, and the family had been using these practices for over four decades.

This disconnect is typical. In the current hype around regenerative ag, we should not miss the long view that farming is changing and will be more diverse in terms of species grown and potentially carbon negative in terms of how we grow. Fewer inputs will be used through advancements in technology.

Every field has different soil and different needs, and a regenerative plan needs to account for that. At the farm gate, the work needs to be monetized based on standards that have value in the marketplace, which currently don’t exist, and impact the production economics by lowering costs, building soil health and managing water.

3 Actions You Can Take Now

Expand use of regenerative practices. There is currently a lot of grant funding for conservation practices . Now is a good time to get started, but don’t get bound into long-term contracts that are going to lock up your data or rights to sell ecosystem credits in the future.
Don’t be afraid to measure. The future will be in selling products from your farm based on how the crop was produced, as well as selling water, carbon and other credits. The key is to get yourself in a position to reap this value without being committed to companies and organizations still trying to figure it out.
Band together and invest in the tools. Groups of farmers working together can coordinate ways to invest in the enabling tools that will lower barriers to entry, collect data, talk to potential downstream customers who might want to pay premiums and share best practices on what it takes to adopt new practices.

No one knows better than you that the future of your farm depends on balancing practices and profits that sustain your land, resources and family . The stakes are evolving based on weather patterns, technology, market demand and more. What actions are you taking to remain resilient?

Colorado Rancher Leverages USDA Grant Money to Steward Public Land

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 17:48:57 GMT

On Gayel Alexander’s Colorado ranch, the cow-to-land ratio is enough to leave many scratching their heads.

Every year, she grazes 200-head of beef cows on 40,000 acres of public land that sits on the rugged landscape shared by national monuments and culturally significant mountaintops.

The fact that her cows are scattered across the landscape like needles in a giant haystack of land doesn’t bother Alexander. She knows this land.

In 1936 and 1942, through the Taylor Grazing Act, Alexander’s grandfather was able to secure two land leases.

“Even though he only had an eighth-grade education, my grandfather was a very smart man,” she said.

Now, these separate leases, managed first by her grandfather, then later by her mother and now by Alexander, combined with adjoining private property, make up the Ja Quidi Ranch.

Layered with generational land knowledge, Alexander also knows her cattle. She spends time on the land with them, learning their habits and tracking their grazing patterns.

But Alexander’s knowledge doesn’t necessarily equal control.

“I have range cows, not pasture cows,” she says. “They are very agile, very smart and they are used to doing what they want to do to survive on their own.”

One challenge with range cows is that Alexander is sometimes chasing her herd away from boundaries and shooing them from neighbors’ cropland and hay barns. On a broader scale, this rangeland free-for-all limits her ability to take full advantage of the rotational grazing plans she develops with federal range conservationists from The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. This data-tracking hurdle impacts her management decisions, which, in turn, affects overall profitability and environmental stewardship.

That’s where the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities , USDA’s historic funding package for conservation agriculture comes into play for Alexander. The $3.1 billion investment is broken up into 141 public-private grants aimed at providing both technical and financial support for farmers and ranchers to begin, grow or enhance their conservation journey and connect the data associated with it to both operational success and the climate-smart economy.

One of those grants, Farm Journal’s Connected Ag Project , was the missing piece Alexander needed to connect her practical ranch needs and her dreams of holistic land management to reality.

“We have gathered a coalition of industry and conservation leaders, put the power of their technical expertise alongside $40 million in federal grant dollars and brought all of that to bear for the American farmer,” says Jimmy Emmons, senior vice president for climate-smart programs for Trust In Food , Farm Journal’s sustainable ag group. “Through this project, 500 growers and producers like Gayel will have a true partner in connecting their conservation goals to success both for themselves and for agriculture’s sustainable future.”

Each producer enrolled in the project receives:

technical conservation planning
agronomic support
data tools
coaching for how to maximize data efficacy
financial support to implement climate-smart practices or technology

Andrew Lyon, director of technical assistance for the project, is tasked with assessing the needs of farmers in the program and matching them with partners that can provide both solutions and expertise. As the first producer to implement a conservation program under the grant, Alexander will be using both technology and data-coaching partners to accomplish her conservation goals.

“Virtual fencing and data coaching have been important tools to meet both the current challenges that Gayel has on her public land leases and the aspirational goals that she has for better land overall stewardship through increased rotational grazing,” Lyon says. “Through this program, producers like Gayel will have the information and tools they need to set them up for a future of conservation-minded decision-making on their operations.”

Alexander says she never would have been able to address her challenges and meet those goals on her own – which is the main factor that led Merck Animal Health to sign onto the grant project with their Vence virtual fencing technology.

Other private partners for the program, including Ducks Unlimited, PTx Trimble, AgriWebb, U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Texas Agricultural Land Trust, ABS Global and Tuskegee University, among others, combine to provide both resources and technical assistance to put practical conservation on the ground throughout the U.S.

“The grant partnership is important to Merck Animal Health because it helps reduce barriers and encourages ranchers to adopt innovative tools, like Vence, to implement strategies to produce beef while reducing their environmental impact,” said Gary Tiller, Commercial Director, Vence Corp., part of Merck Animal Health. “Through our partnership, Merck Animal Health can contribute to sustainability efforts important to the industry.”

Recently, the Connected Ag Project team outfitted Ja Quidi Ranch with technology that is already providing tangible benefit.

Alexander’s cattle have been outfitted with Vence virtual collars, which are allowing her to collect data that she has been “chomping at the bit” to have. She says the data will allow her to make adaptive changes during the growing seasons and better care for the health and wellbeing of her herd.

That level of control could help her increase the size of her herd in the future. Grant partner AgriWebb will provide both the technology and support needed to help get Alexander to that point with their all-in-one livestock management software.

“Those focused on improving their livestock’s efficiency or reducing their fertilizer usage will work with Trust in Food’s technical assistance team, as well as AgriWebb’s customer success team, to ensure the right records are tracked and assessed to support producers on their climate-smart journey,” says Coby Buck, a fifth-generation rancher and director of strategic accounts at AgriWebb.

Alexander believes that the benefits will grow exponentially for her ranch.

“I have feed on both my permits that isn’t getting used right now,” she says. “I normally have four allotments, but when we wrote my summer plan, we tripled it to 12 allotments.”

“Now I can do a lot more intensive rotational grazing which will increase forage and help bring back grasses that have been dormant for years because they haven’t had hoof and cow activity,” Alexander continues.

Range management practices will be beneficial for wildlife and allow Alexander to increase riparian areas that will revive springs and ponds for healthier habitats.

“Some of this land just isn’t healthy anymore, and this will help it come back alive,” she added.

Gazing out over the rugged, rocky landscape Alexander thinks of as her own, you’ll see areas that are part of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and, just south, the Ute Mountain, a culturally significant landmark for the Ute Nation of Indians.

Alexander is aware of the weight she bears as steward of this land.

“Every time I can better my permits, I’m bettering everything,” she says.

To learn more about Farm Journal’s Connected Ag Project and explore how it could benefit you, visit www.trustinfood.com/grow . Farm Journal also can connect you to expanded opportunities through our Climate-Smart Opportunity Navigator, available here .

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750004G096

Resources Available to Stack Conservation Programs

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:24:18 GMT

By Kathy Meyer

It takes intentionality to meet the requirements, but it’s possible to layer federal and private conservation programs to add extra cash to your bottom line.

“When carbon programs are appropriately stacked with other conservation-focused revenue opportunities, it’s possible for a farmer to achieve an additional six figures of income to a midsize farming operation,” says Cody Barilla, a grain analyst for Terrain.

Barilla, who also owns farmland near Strafford, Kan., started looking for a “unicorn” carbon market for farmers and found an overwhelming amount of options.

With each program having unique rules, regulations, contract limits and payment structures, Barilla published a research report titled “Monetizing Conservation,” to help farmers explore the options.

He advises farmers to be aware of the contractual obligation, compensation and required practices.

Jump The Hurdles
The record keeping and documentation needed to meet conservation program requirements deter many farmers.

“Awareness of these programs and technical assistance to help is somewhat lacking, yet growing. To help remove this barrier, NRCS offers a network of Technical Service Providers (TSP) that can help farmers design and implement a plan that meets requirements,” Barilla says.

Noah Goza, a certified TSP with Heartland Soil Services, notes soil sampling, VRT application, cover crops, changing equipment to facilitate drilling, no-till or strip-till, and paying an agronomist to help plan how these practices fit together can add to the cost of production.

“The biggest challenge I see with farmers wanting to implement conservation practices is cost; there are costs associated with changing how we farm to be better stewards,” he says. “The good news is there are dollars available to help offset some of those costs.”

Goza adds another challenge farmers could face is access to the technical assistance needed for new conservation practices. He encourages them to contact their local NRCS office and recognize if they need help from a TSP as well.

If a farmer enrolls in a program and elects to work with a TSP, the TSP will help create a compliant plan, implement it and submit the required paperwork to NRCS.

“If a farmer chooses to work with a TSP, NRCS can add funds to the contract to help pay for it,” Goza says. “It’s a win because the farmer can work with a specialist that understands the practice requirements and brings experience to create the best plan for their farm. Plus, it eases the workload for the NRCS field office staff so they can assist other farmers.”

Federal Conservation Programs
According to Barilla, approximately $20 billion of Inflation Reduction Act funds will be used for the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Of that funding, $8.45 billion will go to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and $3.25 billion will go to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

Further funding of $3.1 billion is allocated to Climate-Smart Commodities projects.

Stacking Conservation Programs
While stacking programs for the same practice on the same acre, is often prohibited, a privately funded carbon program can potentially stack with a federally-funded one.

“I recommend finding a supply chain program that pays a premium for grain grown under sustainable/regenerative ag practices or a non-federally funded carbon program, and you can find ways to combine either of those with an NRCS program,” Goza says.

Barilla agrees the best approach is to stack a federal conservation program such as EQIP and CSP with a private program (supply chain or carbon market).

“I would like to test drive a carbon market on a portion of my farm with the confidence of also having an EQIP or EQIP-CIC contract,” Barilla says. “I am exploring carbon markets to find the optimal stacking opportunity if I have a funded EQIP or EQIP-CIC contract.”

He also reminds farmers to keep in mind that only one carbon acre can be sold at a time.

Successful Stacking
Jason Ochs, Kansas farmer and American AgCredit board member, has participated with CSP for over a decade, and he’s currently filing to enroll in EQIP and Climate-Smart Commodities grants.

Ochs farms with his wife, brother and sister-in-law on 15,000 acres near the Kansas/Colorado border. They grow wheat, grain sorghum, corn and are experimenting with camelina, an oilseed crop that might offer potential for biodiesel, jet fuel and other uses.

“We’ve done minimal till for several years and are converting some of the farm to no-till because we need to keep as much residue on the ground to make the best use of our rainfall being as low as 14" to 16" in some years,” Ochs says. “We use stripper headers that take heads of wheat to keep the straw tall so the sun doesn’t burn the soil and helps keep it cooler.”

Ochs says the biggest hurdle for their farm to participate in the conservation programs was the feeling of being overwhelmed by the options. They worked with Heartland Soil Services and Soil Regen with their TSP services to narrow the focus.

“Stacking conservation programs to maximize income is tricky. For instance, if you’ve no-tilled in the past or used cover crops, you can’t enroll in some, and you can’t do two carbon programs on the same acre. Partners like Terrain, American AgCredit and others help us put the puzzle pieces together,” he says.

Ochs’s best advice: “Find a mentor. Ask them what worked, what didn’t and why. Find experts with experience educating people on programs that exist, which many farmers don’t know exist.”

For farms either currently practicing conservation or planning to add a conservation practice to their operation, documentation is a high-value use of time.

“Participating in these conservation programs is not going to completely change the way you farm,” Barilla says. “Approach it as supplementing your farm income by implementing new conservation practices and adding another income stream. Look into the potential. It’s a great way to increase the value of the time you’re already investing, and there are sources to help you.”

Want to Avoid Leaving Climate-Smart Money On the Table? There's An App for That

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 23:02:47 GMT

In 2023, USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities turned on the spigot to fund 141 projects, totaling $3 billion. Understanding the projects — each run by a different organization with its own unique offerings and structure — begs the question: Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

“Producers are always interested in looking at opportunities, but we can’t review 141 grants,” says Jimmy Emmons, western Oklahoma rancher and Trust In Food vice president.

To cut out the time-consuming task of wading through the climate-smart projects, a new app pilot, the Climate-Smart Opportunity Navigator , seeks to remove the paperwork clutter and match farms and ranches with the right Climate-Smart Commodity grant project in minutes.

“Quicker and more efficient means to evaluate opportunities will increase participation, offer simple communication avenues, and, ultimately, get funding into the hands of growers so they can quickly turn those dollars into applied practices,” says Joelle Mosso, Western Growers Association associate vice president of science.

How Does the Climate-Smart Opportunity Navigator Work?

The app pilot, created by Farm Journal’s Trust In Food and AgWeb, is powered by USDA data on the 141 projects, most of which are focused on major commodities such as corn, soybeans and livestock. Harnessing this data in an app, producers can input their operation basics – such as location, commodities produced, and production practices and interests – and be matched with one or more of the Climate-Smart Commodities projects that fit their individual specs.

The app provides a basic description of each program match along with contact information so it’s easy to compare options and take the next step to participate.

For example, an Indiana corn grower interested in adopting no-till and cover crop practices would input their data to the Climate-Smart Commodities Opportunity Navigator. In four questions, the tool matches the farm’s profile and interests with 11 possible grant projects, such as:

Field to Market’s “Climate-Smart Agriculture Innovative Finance Initiative”
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s “Farmers for Soil Health Climate-Smart Commodities Partnership”

In contrast, a Colorado beef and bison producer looking to adopt prescribed grazing and soil health improvement practices on pasture would input their information to the Navigator tool and it matches the farm’s profile and interests with 9 grant projects that includes:

American Sustainable Business Institute Inc.’s “The Growing GRASS Project”
Sustainable Northwest’s “Building a Regenerative Ranching Economy in the West”

A Pennsylvania dairy producer interested in adopting nutrient management and cover crop practices matches with 9 grants, such as:

Truterra LLC’s “Climate SMART (Scaling Mechanisms for Ag’s Regenerative Transformation)”
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s “Scaling Methane Emissions Reductions and Soil Carbon Sequestration – A Value-Added Commodities Approach for U.S. Dairy”

And an Indiana pork producer who practices feed management and integrates cover crops matches with 2 grant projects:

Fischer Farms Natural Foods LLC’s “Fischer Farm Ultimate Beef and Pork Strategy”
Farm Journal’s “The Connected Ag Project”

Big Picture: The Perfect Climate-Smart Project Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

“It’s great there are lots of opportunity for producers with USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, but with so much opportunity it can be very overwhelming,” says Andrew Lyon, Trust In Food’s director of technical assistance and Kansas rancher. “By putting in specific information about your operation, the Navigator tool allows you to whittle down grant opportunities to the handful that are most applicable to you and provides you contact information so that you could follow up with those few opportunities that best suit you.”

While Farm Journal is excited about its own $40 million Climate-Smart Commodity grant, The Connected Ag Project , it wants producers to get in touch with the opportunity that best suits them, Lyon adds.

Test Drive the Climate-Smart Opportunity Navigator Tool

Farm Journal’s AgWeb and Trust In Food look forward to hearing from producers about their experience using the beta version. Take the Climate-Smart Opportunity Navigator for a test run, and let us know what worked and what didn’t.

USDA’s Climate-Smart Commodities, Explained

In 2021, USDA announced a historic investment in farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners through a program dubbed the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities . The goal? To scale climate-smart agricultural production practices across the U.S. and to promote and market climate-smart commodities in thriving markets.

To do this, over the next 5 years USDA is financing 141 pilot projects to support the production, tracking and marketing of these climate-smart commodities.

While the specific Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant projects vary widely, each boil down to putting financial incentives or technical support directly into the hands of U.S. farmers, ranchers and landowners to produce and market climate-smart agricultural commodities.

While the term, “climate-smart commodity” is relatively new, the farming and ranching practices it describes have, largely, been around for much longer. Incorporating cover crops, grazing and rangeland management, prairie restoration and nutrient management are just some of the practices that fall under the climate-smart umbrella.

For many producers, participating in a CSC grant translates to getting credit and even cash payment for practices already in place on farm. What’s more, for producers seeking funding sources or simply a push to try something, new these grants are an opportunity to make a change with support along the way.

Biden Administration Announces $11 Billion for Rural Clean Energy Projects

Tue, 16 May 2023 18:58:55 GMT

Rural electric cooperatives, utilities and other energy providers will soon be able to apply for nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for clean energy projects, the Biden administration said on Tuesday. The funding comes from the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last August.

Expanding clean energy to rural communities is critical to meeting the administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, officials told reporters on a Monday press call.

“This is an exciting and an historic day and continues an ongoing effort to ensure that rural America is a full participant in the clean energy economy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the call.

Rural electric cooperatives will be eligible to apply beginning July 31 for $9.7 billion in grants for deploying renewable energy, zero-emission and carbon capture systems, USDA said.

Renewable energy developers and electric service providers like municipal and Tribal utilities will be eligible to apply beginning June 30 for another $1 billion in partially forgivable loans for financing wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other renewable energy projects, USDA said.

On the call with reporters, White House advisor John Podesta said the money would bring good-paying jobs to rural communities and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said the investment would be a “game-changer.”

The new funds will help rural electric cooperatives reach parity with private utility companies who have already begun significant investment in clean energy, Vilsack told reporters.

“We have a climate crisis that requires all of America to participate in reducing emissions to get to the net-zero future,” Vilsack said.

Rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people and draw about 22% of their energy from renewable sources, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Farmers and Support Local Farm Economy

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 23:04:35 GMT

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and other Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that backers claim will reduce applicant barriers for some local food programs, increase investments in critical infrastructure and deliver other benefits.

Called the Local Farms and Food Act , the legislation is supported by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.

“OEFFA has been meeting with members and partners throughout the state of Ohio since last fall to talk about what is needed to continue the progress on local and regional food system development in the upcoming farm bill,” association Policy Director Amalie Lipstreu said in a news release. “After hearing from Senator Brown’s office and seeing the Local Farms and Food Act, it is clear they are attuned to what is needed to continue to grow more resilient and healthful food systems.”

At the center of the proposed legislation are “turnkey grants,” which simplify the process of awarding up to $100,000 for projects through the Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Local Food Promotion Program, according to the release.

An increase in funding — from $50 million to $75 million per year — is proposed to cover Farmers Market Promotion Program projects like outreach and promotion, market manager staff time, vendor training, design projects, and data collection and evaluation. Under the Local Food Promotion Program, turnkey grant options include food hub feasibility studies, value chain coordinator staff time, technical assistance, data collection and evaluation, and general-purpose equipment, the release said.

Proposed changes to the Local Agriculture Market Program also include a reduced matching fund requirement — from 50% to 25% for applications with an adjusted gross income of $250,000 or less. This, along with the increase in funding and prioritization of geographically diverse awardees, will improve equity and access to the suite of LAMP subprograms, according to the release.

The act would reauthorize the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and reduce the matching fund requirement of the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), the release said.

The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association supports the legislation’s adoption in the 2023 farm bill, the release said.

Can the $20-Billion Inflation Reduction Act Get Rolled Out Quickly Enough?

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 21:33:08 GMT

In the pecking order of priorities on the farm, conservation practices have often ranked relatively low on the list – not from a lack of farmer interest so much as the result of limited dollars and cents.

That’s certainly been the case with federal resources available through USDA. Contracts for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), for instance, were awarded to only 31% of farmer applicants between 2010 and 2020, according to a report issued by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) last year. Likewise, only 42% of Conservation Stewardship Program applications were funded during that decade.

But conservation funding opportunities are getting an unprecedented financial boost with implementation of the legislative package dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The package was signed into law by President Joe Biden last August.

“How often have we said regarding conservation, ‘if only we had the money to do that?’ Well, now we have the money to do that; it’s a generational opportunity,” said John Larson, senior vice president of the American Farmland Trust.

“The thing that we need to focus on is implementing that funding in a way that meets the needs of farmers and ranchers in the field to accomplish their desired conservation outcomes, because that’s going to be key,” he added.

Larson weighed in on the new legislative package during a panel discussion on the topic of farm policy and funding at the 2023 Trust In Food Symposium in Nashville, Tenn. The panel, pictured here, was narrated by Jay Vroom, chair of America’s Conservation Ag Movement and an advisor to Trust In Food.

IRA Funding Allocation Specifics Outlined

The IRA totals approximately $740 billion, including nearly $40 billion earmarked for agriculture, forestry and rural development. Of that latter amount, roughly $20 billion is funding earmarked for agriculture conservation.

Specific funding allocated by the IRA includes:
• $8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program
• $4.95 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program
• $3.25 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program
• $1.4 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
• $1 billion for conservation technical assistance
• $300 million to measure, evaluate, quantify carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reductions from conservation investments

Conservation Projects Need Funding This Season

The challenge now is whether the agriculture industry will be able to move quickly enough to implement the IRA program and harvest the benefits in a timely manner.

“If the conservation community doesn’t get all those billions of dollars invested – not spent but invested – in the next 24 months there’s not going to be additional resources made available (in the future),” said Bruce Knight, principal and founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions and former head of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), during the Trust In Food panel discussion.

The conservation community must move quickly to get funding into the hands of farmers and ranchers and demonstrate it values and respects “the taxpayer trust that they have been handed,” Knight added.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced initial implementation plans for the IRA funding in mid-February. As of last week (March 17), a press release from Vilsack’s office said applications for the first IRA funding cycle had closed for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Agricultural Land Easements and Wetland Reserve Easements.

While NRCS accepts applications for its conservation programs year-round, farmers and livestock producers interested in EQIP or CSP financial assistance through IRA should apply by their state’s ranking deadline to be considered for funding in the current cycle, Vilsack said in a release. Farmers can click here to learn more about state application ranking dates .

If farmers apply after the program ranking date specified, NRCS said it will automatically consider their application during the next cycle.

‘A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats’

While Democrats backed passing the IRA unanimously last summer, Congressional Republicans voiced unanimous opposition to the legislative package.

Love it or hate it, the IRA represents an opportunity to benefit a variety of people and organizations, said Randy Russell, president of The Russell Group, during the Trust In Food panel discussion.

He referenced benefits he observed from the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. USDA invested up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects in the first pool of funding in 2022.

The agency said the climate-smart commodities program provided positive outcomes for up to 60,000 farms, representing more than 25 million acres of working land.

“The real strength of that program is that it forged relationships up and down the food chain between land grant universities, nonprofits, the conservation community, the environmental community, and ag produce organizations,” Russell said. “It really leveraged using private sector dollars to build these partnerships.”

Russell’s hope is that the Inflation Reduction Act will provide similar outcomes.

Vilsack said in a press release the IRA funding will provide direct climate mitigation benefits and expand access to financial and technical assistance for growers and livestock producers to advance conservation on their farm, ranch or forest land through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more.

Crop Insurance, Production Costs, ERP Among Key Topics at Senate Ag Farm Bill Hearing

Soil Health a Priority in Latest USDA Climate Funding

Come On In: The Ocean Temperatures Are Hot