The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting public comments on its draft Requests for Grant Applications (RGA) for the $6.75 million Healthy Soils Program (HSP), authorized by the Budget Act of 2016, and funded through California’s cap-and-trade program.
The Healthy Soils Program offers grants to farmers who take action to capture greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, in the soil to help combat climate change.
The Healthy Soils Program will be implemented under two separate components: 1) the $3.75 million Incentives Program and 2) the $3 million Demonstration Projects. For the Incentives Program, an estimated $3.75 million in competitive grant funding will be awarded to provide financial assistance for implementation of agricultural management practices that sequester soil carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the Demonstration Projects, an estimated $3 million in competitive grant funding will be awarded to projects that demonstrate to farmers and ranchers specific management practices that sequester carbon, improve soil health and reduce atmospheric GHGs.
The RGA for both the HSP Incentives Program and Demonstration Projects can be found on the CDFA Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) webpage: https://www.cdfa.ca.
CDFA will hold a webinar on July 6, 2017 an 10:00 am to provide information on how to comment on the DRAFT RGA and answer any questions. To register for the webinar, please visit the program webpage at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/
Comments regarding the DRAFT RGA can be submitted to cdfa.oefi@cdfa.ca.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. PSTon Wednesday, July 12, 2017. This will be the final opportunity to shape the program’s inaugural round, so we hope interested stakeholders will take some time to review the drafts and share your valuable feedback.
Please email us your questions, comments, or concerns as well, as we will be submitting comments too. You can email brian@calclimateag.org or call 916.441.4042.
