Entries by Tracy Mumma

Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub Grants

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The application deadline is April 30, 2024. The Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub, funded by the USDA, is offering two grant opportunities in 2024. SPARK grants ($10,000 to $75,000) fund projects that need a short-term infusion of funds for school food system and marketplace improvements, such as capacity building, planning, and product testing […]

Farms Fund to Preserve and Provide Access to Chicago-Area Farmland

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Proofing Station, an impact-first charitable investment fund, announced that it has provided a $1 million low-interest debt investment to The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund. This will enable the Farms Fund to purchase and conserve critical farmland in the Chicago region and provide a patient path to farmland ownership for new and disadvantaged farmers. The Farms […]

Indiana Offering Revolving Loan Program for Small Meat and Poultry Processors

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Indiana Department of Agriculture (ISDA) began accepting applications April 1, 2024, for the Indiana Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program, a $15 million revolving loan program that assists small and very small Indiana meat and poultry packers and processors with access to affordable capital for meat expansion projects. The program will support local livestock producers […]

Fertilizer Pellets Offer Use for Low-Value Wool

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Nebraska shepherds Megan Landes-Murphy and Tom Murphy found it a challenge to utilize the low-value wool from their Shropshire sheep until they purchased a pellet mill and began making fertilizer pellets from it, reports Midwest Messenger. Their company, Kestrel Ridge Pellet Co., is one of just 10 wool pellet manufacturers in the United States. In […]

Building Soil, Building Equity Initiative Offers Financial Incentives to Improve Farm Health

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Accelerating Appalachia has launched its USDA Climate-Smart Commodities grant-funded Building Soil, Building Equity Initiative. The Farmer Fund will incentivize up to 400 producers in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Southern Ohio, and Northern Georgia to build soil health and expand conservation farming. The program will provide direct incentives up to $1,000 […]

New Organic Soil Carbon Estimate Offers Accurate Benchmark

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Emory University reports that environmental scientists have combined field-level data with machine-learning techniques to estimate soil organic carbon at the U.S. continental scale. This new estimate indicates that soil contains about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and plants combined, and it provides a benchmark to guide adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. The estimate […]

Global Study Highlights Benefits of Diversified Farming

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A major global study led by the University of Copenhagen and University of Hohenheim revealed significant benefits from diversified agriculture. The four-year study published in Science collected data from 24 research projects on more than 20 different types of diversification practices, including crop rotation, hedgerows, biochar application, mulching, livestock diversification, and water conservation. Researchers found […]

Grant to Help Texas Department of Agriculture Promote Organic Producers

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The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) announced that it will use a $200,000 Organic Market Development Grant from USDA to assist promotional efforts for Texas organic producers. Funded projects under this grant will encompass a wide range of promotional and educational activities showcasing the diversity of the organic agriculture industry in the Lone Star State. […]

ERS Report Explores Conservation Practice Adoption by Farmland Renters

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USDA Economic Research Service published Farmland Rental and Conservation Practice Adoption, a report that explores patterns across cropland owner-operators and cropland renters in the adoption of conservation tillage, cover cropping, and six permanent structural practices (riparian buffers, filter strips, field borders, terraces, grass waterways, and contour farming). Contrary to popular belief, this study found little […]

Report Recommends Improvements to EQIP to Serve More Farmers

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A new report from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, Costly versus Cost-effective: How EQIP can be improved to serve more farmers and the climate, suggests reforms to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The report found that more than $182 million in EQIP funding for 2023 was spent on 10 practices designed for […]