$2.5M available for organizations to implement soil health program
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications from Colorado’s conservation districts and other eligible entities interested in administering STAR Plus grant funding to agricultural producers who expand or introduce soil health practices in their operations. Improving soil health, a key component of responding to the effects of climate change in agricultural landscapes, can improve available soil moisture, reduce agricultural runoff, decrease erosion, and support more productive, nutritious crops. Funding for these grants comes from the Climate Smart Commodities grant, awarded to the Department last fall.
“Over the past several decades,” we’ve learned how cropping methods like no-till, crop rotation can strengthen crop resilience against extreme weather fluctuations and prolonged drought. CDA is expanding the STAR Plus soil health program by providing grants to conservation districts and other organizations working to increase the use of soil health practices across the state,” said Cindy Lair, Program Director for the Colorado State Conservation Board and the lead of Colorado’s soil health program. “Colorado has a robust legacy of soil conservation and soil stewardship and the STAR program has been farmer- and rancher-led from the beginning. The new funding from USDA’s Climate Smart Commodities grant will help Colorado more than double participation in Colorado’s STAR program and scale it up to a national level.”
The Colorado STAR and STAR Plus programs together make up the Colorado Soil Health Program. Right now, more than 120 producers are enrolled in the STAR Plus program through 16 conservation districts and three eligible entities. CDA will award capacity grants to additional conservation districts (CDs) and eligible entities (EEs) to work with farmers and ranchers to implement healthy soil practices. CDs and EEs currently administering the program can apply to support additional producers by filling out the application for existing entities.
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