USDA-supported effort provides competitive funding to help farmers integrate sustainable manure and nutrient management methods.
December 11, 2024
Dairy farmers across 15 states can apply for considerable financial support to adopt climate-smart manure management practices through a new initiative aimed at enhancing soil health, increasing herd productivity and minimizing environmental impact, according to Transforming the Farmer to Consumer Supply Chain (Transform F2C) project leaders.
The Dairy Manure Management Incentive Program, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-backed $70 million Transform F2C project, provides competitive funding to help farmers integrate sustainable manure and nutrient management methods that suit their unique operation's needs.
This program offers implementation support for practices such as waste storage, waste separation, composting and nutrient management. Farmers can receive up to $1 million per farm entity.
"Many manure management practices require capital-heavy infrastructure investments, a challenge for the average dairy farmer, yet the business and environmental returns are phenomenal," said Nick Goeser, co-founder of Carbon A List, the company administering the grant. "This project is creating real impact. We expect a reduction equivalent of over 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide throughout the five-year program."
Priority access will be given to small-scale and historically underserved farmers, helping more producers participate in climate-resilient practices, the Transform F2C news release said.
The deadline to apply is Jan. 30, 2025. Program details are as follows:
Dairy farmers in California, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin who meet Farm Service Agency requirements are eligible to apply.
Funding is awarded based on the environmental impact of practice adoption, assessed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reduction. Selected farmers may receive up to 100% of the proposed project budget.
The Dairy Manure Management Incentive Program offers a six-step guide to simplify the enrollment process, from confirming eligibility to submitting an online application, making it easier for farmers to obtain competitive funding that supports sustainability on their farms. More details are available at TransformF2C.com/dairy-manure-management.
Funded by the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities and led by Carbon A List, Transform F2C collaborates with industry leaders to create sustainable, end-to-end supply chain partnerships for climate-smart commodities. The initiative focuses on empowering farmers, boosting climate resilience and delivering climate-smart products to consumers.
USDA is investing more than $3 billion dollars in approximately 140 pilot projects through this effort, with all projects requiring meaningful involvement of small and underserved producers. USDA on its webpage said it is committed to supporting a diverse range of farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners through Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.
Carbon A List helps clients and partners unlock climate action in the land sector, especially carbon asset monetization, offering consulting, methodology development and project development services to various stakeholders in the carbon market.
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