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What's New with the Soil Health Program?

Upcoming Events 

Navigating USDA Programs: Producer Panel Webinar Series | September 10th & 24th, 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm | Virtual

Join the Quivira Coalition's New Agrarian Program and a panel of experienced ranchers and farmers to learn from their experience navigating USDA programs in this two-part webinar series. The first panel will discuss navigating NRCS (EQIP & CSP) and the second panel will discuss accessing the FSA.

Colorado Bean Week | September 22-28th

Governor Jared Polis has proclaimed September 22-28, 2025 as Colorado Bean Week. Join the Colorado Dry Bean Committee in celebrating all the ways that beans provide benefits for environmental and human health. Read more here about how to join in the celebration of Colorado Bean Week!

Western Colorado Farm & Ranch Innovation Expo | November 13-15th | Montrose, CO

This expo will showcase the latest tech, tools, and equipment to Western Colorado and surrounding ag communities. There will also be demos that focus on soil health, water conservation, livestock management, and equipment operation. This event is free and is put on with the Shavano Conservation District and the Tri-River Area. For more information, please call the Shavano Conservation District at 970-249-8407.

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

 

Grants & Other Soil Health Engagement Opportunities

Producers Wanted for New Soil Project: "Probing Our Country's Soil Health"

This new effort, funded by the NRCS, aims to refine soil health baselines and tools for benchmarking progress on working farms and ranches across the nation. The anonymous data collected will be used to expand a new and exciting tool called the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (or SHAPE). If interested, producers should sign up for a 1 hour Zoom call to complete a management survey and grant access to their fields for hand-probe soil sampling. Participating producers will receive a soil health report for their fields. Sign up for a Zoom meeting here or here. 

Restore Grant (from Zero Foodprint) Applications Open Until October 8th

Farmers and ranchers can receive up to $25k to implement climate-smart practices that sequester carbon. Restore Grants applications are open for farmers and ranchers in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Applications close at midnight PST on October 8th, and award decisions will be sent by mid-November.

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