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The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation. 

Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increase crop resiliency, or develop wildlife habitat, NRCS can custom design a CSP plan to help you meet those goals. NRCS can help you identify natural resource problems in your operation and provide technical and financial assistance to solve those problems in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner.

The Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) is a $300 million multi-agency USDA effort to support certified organic and transitioning-to-organic producers and strengthen organic markets.

Through OTI, the Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) has made $75M in cost-share grant funding available to organic and transitioning-to-organic producers.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is accepting applications for three popular conservation priorities through February 16, 2024. This funding is in addition to the millions available to California’s agricultural producers through the regular Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the new Inflation Reduction Act.

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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce the availability of approximately $12 million in grant funding for Healthy Soils Program (HSP) Incentive Grants. The program is currently accepting grant applications through 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, February 9, 2024. 

^{(Future Organic Farmer grantee Angelina Olivia with some of her poultry flock)}

For the last four years, the National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) has partnered with Chipotle to support young and beginning farmers and ranchers in starting up and growing their businesses with a flexible funding opportunity each spring. 

January 31, 2024, is the deadline to apply for reimbursement of food safety certification expenses incurred in the 2023 season. 

The USDA released two years of funding for on-farm food safety expenses, and this is potentially the last year of this program. CCOF is working with allies to try to secure future food safety funding in the farm bill, but for now, we are encouraging eligible specialty crop operations to apply for these vital and rare subsidies. 

Horizon Farm Credit is hosting the second annual JumpStart grant program for beginning farmers. The JumpStart grant program is an annual grant designed to support the growth of the next generation of farmers and facilitate their entry into farming.

Application deadline: July 31, 4 p.m. EST.

Please see details below or Horizon Farm Credit’s website for additional information or to apply.

First Nations Development Institute believes that reclaiming control over local food systems is an important step toward ensuring the long-lasting health and economic well-being of Native people and communities. Native food system control has the potential to increase food production, improve health and nutrition, and eliminate food insecurity in rural and reservation-based communities, while also promoting entrepreneurship and economic development.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce availability of approximately $4 million of grant funding for its Healthy Soils Demonstration Program.

Farmers and ranchers across California are encouraged to apply to Zero Foodprint’s Restore Grant Program. The grant facilitates regenerative farming projects by providing grantees up to $25,000 for practices that sequester carbon, such as compost, cover cropping, prescribed grazing, and other regenerative practices.