TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE HEALTHY SOILS PROGRAM

Are you interested in implementing cover crops, compost, hedgerows and other Healthy Soils practices on you farm? The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is offering 3 year grants to farmers to implement Healthy Soils Practices and we can help you apply!

1-on-1 technical and application help is available in English & Spanish 

(Para detalles en español, haga clic aquí)

No farm is too small, all farm sizes welcome!

Payment Information:
• Farms can receive up to $100,000 to implement Healthy Soils practices
• Payment rates will reimburse 100% of practice implementation costs according to CDFA cost-share schedule.
• Up to 25% of total grant funds are eligible for early payment

Important Program Requirements:
• Practices must be implemented on fields where they haven’t been done before
• Soil Management practices (cover crops, compost, mulching, no-till, etc.) must be done every year for 3 years
• Implementation of practices must begin before the end of each project year
• Permission from landowner
• Farmer must have a business identification number (Tax ID or Social Security number)

Important Dates:
Late February 2020: Application period begins
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until June 2020
September 2020: Grant period begins

PLANT COVER CROPS
($106.70 per acre for multiple species)

REDUCE TILLAGE

($30-32 per acre)

 

PLANT HEDGEROWs

($10/ linear foot)

 

SPREAD COMPOST

($50/ton up to 8 tons per acre)

HEALTHY SOILS PRACTICES

Soil Management

• Cover crops
• Compost application
• No-till or reduced till
• Mulching • Conservation crop rotation
• Reduce fertilizer
• Strip cropping
• Whole orchard recycling (new!)

 

Woody Cover

• Alley cropping
• Hedgerow planting
• Multi-story cropping • Riparian forest buffer 
• Tree/shrub establishment
• Windbreak/shelterbelt establishment

 

Herbaceous Cover

• Conservation cover
• Contour buffer Strips
• Field border
• Filter strip
• Forage and biomass planting • Grassed waterway
• Herbaceous wind barrier
• Riparian herbaceous cover
• Vegetative barriers

 

Grazing Lands

• Compost application to grazing lands
• Prescribed Grazing • Range planting
• Silvopasture

To learn more and get help applying for a grant, call or email us at:

Sara Tiffany
sara@caff.org
530-756-8518

Josefina Lara-Chavez (Español)
josefina@caff.org
831-744-5424

Emily Buerer
emily@caff.org
925-719-3379

Rex Dufour
rexd@ncat.org
530-792-7338

Omar Rodriguez (Español)
omarr@ncat.org
406-533-6654