Sand County Foundation, a Wisconsin-based national conservation organization, is awarding $680,000 to nine farmer-led groups statewide. Through its Farmer-Led Fund for Watershed Improvement, the groups will use the money to fund incentives and technical assistance for farmers within the watersheds.
“We’re honored to invest in conservation by partnering on projects that make a difference on the landscape,” says Craig Ficenec, Sand County Foundation’s senior director of agricultural conservation. “There is growing enthusiasm by farmers to think creatively about how to address local conservation challenges. These grants provide the flexibility for local groups of concerned farmers to determine which conservation practices and financial incentives will best serve their region.”
Meet The Recipients
- Farmers of Fourteen Mile Creek, $100,000
- Farmers of the Sugar River, $100,000
- Kenosha Regenerative Producers Group, $30,000
- Rock River Regenerative Graziers, $50,000
- Sauk Soil & Water Improvement Group, $100,000
- Seven Rivers Soil Cooperative Inc, $50,000
- Walworth Alliance Teaching Regenerative Systems, $50,000
- Watershed Protection Committee of Racine County, $100,000
- Yahara Pride Farms Inc., $100,000
The grant recipients will host farmer-focused educational events and employ a variety of agricultural practices to improve local water resources. Practices covered by the grants include cover crops, reseeding pastures, and removal of woody invasive plants for grazing livestock. It also covers habitat for grassland birds, reduced tillage, and applications of biochar.
Funding for the Farmer-Led Fund for Watershed Improvement is part of a $13.8 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program award that Sand County Foundation secured from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to assist farmer-led environmental efforts in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.
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