A brainchild of CalCAN’s National Healthy Soils Policy Network, the Midwest Agriculture Conservation or MAC Network celebrated its first year in operation as representatives from six states gathered in Columbia, Missouri between October 21-24th. Started as a way to ensure that conservation resources from the Inflation Reduction Act reached smaller-scale, diversified, organic and historically underserved producers, the MAC network is building conservation capacity in the Midwest.The MAC network enables farmer-serving organizations to hire staff specifically dedicated to working one on one with producers as they learn about climate oriented conservation practices, apply to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cost-share, and navigate the process through implementation. Learnings identified from this work will also inform the national conversation on how we effectively keep agricultural climate conservation a priority in the coming years.
Community of Practice
A key value of the network is the community of practice of field practitioners. Field Coordinators meet several times each month to build their knowledge of the NRCS process focusing on conservation planning. They share experiences, including the challenges they and the producers they engage face in understanding the often complex processes of USDA conservation cost share. These producers often face unique challenges as they may not fit a Midwestern model of corn and soy row cropping. Working together, MAC Network Coordinators lift up how to best meet the needs, opportunities and challenges producers face with the support, training and resources of CalCAN staff.
A main focus for the first year of operation was developing a clear understanding about how NRCS programs work on paper, and how they work in practice, knowing what producers need to apply and understanding the 9 step Conservation Planning process, associated resource concerns, management systems and conservation practices.
Training
To facilitate this learning, the MAC Network contracted with the Rural Advancement Foundation International or RAFI. Authors of “Accessing NRCS Services and Benefits: The Challenges Faced by Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers and Recommendations for Improving Their Experience with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service”, RAFI has experience working the farmers and ranchers we work to serve through USDA cost-share and detailed many barriers and potential solutions in this report. Jaimie McGirt and Milexa Polanco provided four virtual trainings over the course of 2025 and our Missouri gathering was an opportunity to put that training into practice at the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture.
Coordinators interviewed farm staff for vegetable production fields, a food forest and a former soccer field in transition to
production agriculture. After a tour and brief interview of farm staff, they drew maps and identified resource concerns and potential conservation practices that could improve the operation. Jen Silveri from our partner organization, the Michigan Institute for Food and Farm Systems, played the part of NRCS staff and asked critical questions and provided sample responses they might hear in a field office.
With the large cuts in USDA NRCS staff, the agency will benefit from partners well-trained in conservation planning and potentially certified as Technical Service Providers (TSP) to help farmers and ranchers work through the process.
Taking Stock and Planning Ahead
As the network met for the next two days,we reviewed the progress made during a very challenging launch period where staff from 5 organizations spent more than 40 hours in collaboration and training, hosted 28 events, engaged more than 450 producers with more than 150 referred to NRCS cost-share. No small addition is the establishment of a database to track all producer and NRCS interactions to identify common experiences, challenges and potential policy and programmatic improvements.
MAC Network partner organizations shared 2025 success stories and collectively discussed adaptations that could be made as we work to advance shared goals. As we look ahead to 2026, network members are inspired to support NRCS staff, explore alternative and creative work-arounds to barriers and challenges and hone in on the agricultural conservation practices that build climate resilience.
