NMDA accepting Healthy Soil Program pilot project grant proposals

NMDA accepting Healthy Soil Program pilot project grant proposals

Proposals must be submitted through eligible entities

(Las Cruces, New Mexico) – The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is accepting grant proposals for its Healthy Soil Program, which was created in the Healthy Soil Act signed into law April 2, 2019.

The act’s purpose is to promote and support farming and ranching systems and other forms of land management that increase soil organic matter, aggregate stability, microbiology and water retention to improve the state’s soil health, yield and profitability.

New Mexico farmers and ranchers interested in applying must do so through local governmental entities with proven land management capacity to support healthy soil.

Grant funding may be used for agricultural pilot projects in New Mexico that focus on one or more of five basic soil health principles: keeping the soil covered; minimizing soil disturbance on cropland; maximizing biodiversity; maintaining a living root; and integrating animals into land management.

NMDA strongly recommends that farmers and ranchers who intend to apply check with the eligible entity to learn what its deadline is. Eligible entities will review and sign on to the proposals they receive before forwarding them to NMDA by its deadline of Oct. 3 at 5 p.m.

For more information or to download a proposal, visit www.nmda.nmsu.edu or call 575-646-2642.

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