CDFA Accepting Proposals on New Management Practices for the Healthy Soils Program

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s  Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI), in coordination with the agency’s Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel, is now accepting proposals for new soil carbon sequestration management practices for inclusion in its Healthy Soils Program (HSP).

As part of program development beginning in 2016, CDFA identified specific soil management practices eligible for funding through the HSP. Some of these practices include no or reduced tillage, planting cover crops and compost application. In subsequent rounds of funding, CDFA expanded the suite of healthy soils practices through a public process in coordination with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). In total, 27 management practices that sequester carbon are now included in the program.

“As the Healthy Soils Program continues to grow, new and innovative contributions from our stakeholders are critical to ensuring that farmers and ranchers have the diversity of practices they need to produce the wide range of highly nutritious, affordable and safe food crops,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “Improving soil health in California must be a collaborative effort between CDFA, stakeholder groups, sister agencies and federal partners.”

CDFA’s program stems from the California Healthy Soils Initiative, a collaboration between state agencies to support the development of healthy soils in California. By providing funds to incentivize management practices and on-farm demonstration projects, the HSP helps build soil organic carbon, reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) and enhance soil health.

There are several important requirements needed to submit a management practice for consideration in the HSP. Proposal requirements, process for consideration and other details on the submission process can be found on the Healthy Soils webpage.

Proposals are due by 5 p.m. PT on August 28, 2020 submitted via email to  cdfa.HSP_Tech@cdfa.ca.gov.