MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is accepting applications for 2025 Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants through September 13, 2024. These grants are awarded to producer-led groups to help support and advance producer-led conservation solutions and farmer participation in local watershed conservation efforts.
The total program budget for 2025 is $1 million. Eligible groups that apply can receive up to $40,000. The grants aim to help farmers find and promote conservation solutions best suited for their watershed, based on topography, soil, types of operations, and other factors that differ among regions of the state.
“Across Wisconsin, producers maintain and improve the state’s soil and water resources,” said DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski. “The producer-led program is yet another tool that producers can utilize as they maintain and improve those efforts. The positive outcomes of these conservation efforts will continue to have a positive effect for years to come.”
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must be groups of at least five farmers whose farms are in the same or adjacent watershed. Each farm must have produced at least $6,000 in gross farm revenue last year, or $18,000 over the past three years. Each group must partner with a county land conservation department, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, or a nonprofit conservation organization. Both newly formed and established groups are eligible to apply.
How to Apply
Grant information and application materials are available at https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ProducerLedProjects.aspx and must be submitted by email in Microsoft Word format. For more information, contact Producer-Led Watershed Program Manager Dani Heisler at dani.heisler@wisconsin.gov or (608) 640-7270.
Program Information
The Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants program is the first state program of its kind in the nation. Since the program first began in 2015, DATCP has awarded over $6.2 million to 47 producer-led watershed groups across the state. Requests for funding since the program’s inception total nearly $8.3 million. Grant projects have focused on providing conservation education to farmers, conducting on-farm demonstrations and research, issuing incentive payments for implementing conservation practices, organizing field days, and gathering data on soil health and water quality. In 2023, conservation practices implemented by groups in the program impacted over 1.58 million acres.
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