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What's New with the Soil Health Program?

Upcoming Events 

Climate Resilience Grants | May 7, 2:00pm to 3:00pm | Virtual 

Come to learn about the new Climate Resilience Grant opportunity from CDA. This grant will provide funding to farmers and ranchers who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing a climate-change induced disaster to increase the resilience of their operation. Register for the event here. 

2025 Carbon Finance Bootcamp + Community Engaged Carbon Development Workshop | May 12-15 | CSU SPUR, Denver

The Carbon Finance Bootcamp at CSU offers a world-class educational experience combining university resources with industry connections. The program includes three days of in-person learning and a workshop on community engagement.

Email cda_soil@state.co.us to have your event featured here!

 

Grants & Other Soil Health Engagement Opportunities

USDA Emergency Commodity Assistance Program | Applications open until August 15

The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) provides economic assistance payments to eligible agricultural commodity producers for the 2024 crop year. USDA’s Farm Service Agency is issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers. These one-time economic assistance payments will help commodity producers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices. 


New Agrarian Wellness Training Program | Applications Accepted on a Rolling Basis 

Quivira Coalition and AgWell (an initiative of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union) have partnered to offer a peer-to-peer wellness training program and support network. Participants will gain the ability to recognize, understand, and address behavioral health challenges, which will then prepare them to implement supportive measures within their own networks and facilitate sessions that support their own communities.

Agricultural Climate Resilience Grants | Applications open until May 29

CDA has a new grant opportunity to support Climate Resilience projects within the state's agricultural sector. This grant program is designed to provide crucial financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who have experienced adverse effects due to climate-change induced disasters and are seeking to enhance their resilience against future climate-related challenges.

Attend an informational webinar on May 7th at 2pm to learn more. Register here for the Zoom webinar. 

Zero Foodprint 

The Zero Foodprint logo is a circle with a hand carrying a serving tray that holds a globe.

Winner of the James Beard "Humanitarian of the Year" Award, Zero Foodprint (ZFP) is a nonprofit mobilizing the food world around agricultural climate solutions. Learn about their work and apply for the Restore Grant here.


Watch: Restore Colorado Producer Webinar
Watch: Restore Program Webinar June 2023

 

Hold Your Ground logo which features a pair of hands holding a sprouting plant and the CDA logo which features a red barn.Soil Health at Work

Hold Our Ground Film Series

The first episode in a three-part documentary film series highlighting the innovative work of Colorado producers in building healthy soil and more resilient agricultural systems. 
Watch here: 

E1: Farmers on Soil Heath 

E2: Ranchers on Soil Health

E3: Hold Our Ground
 

Audubon Rockies 

With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Audubon Conservation Ranching staff helped enhance soil and reseed native plants on a degraded pasture of the Rafter W Ranch, an Audubon-certified ranch in eastern Colorado. These restoration techniques help the ranch retain water, which should increase its drought resilience and long-term biodiversity. Monitoring during the first growing season found increased plant growth and reduced soil compaction. 
Learn about a soil restoration project through the Conservation Ranching Initiative: Rafter W Ranch Article & Video