The WA State Conservation Commission (SCC) has obtained an additional $3 million of Climate Commitment Act funds to put into the Sustainable Farms and Fields (SFF) program for the FY24 funding cycle. This means that Pierce Conservation District (PCD) is poised to make another application to the SCC on farmers’ behalf to obtain funding to assist producers in implementing climate-smart practices and projects that increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The application deadline for this additional FY24 funding is March 15, and all projects must be completed by June 30,2024. The next application round for FY25 will be mid-July for projects to be implemented August 2024 – June 30, 2025.
Sustainable Farms and Fields funding can pay for such things as this warm season soil builder cover crop as shown at Zestful Gardens Farm in Puyallup.
The purchase of plants to install along waterbodies or in upland areas on farms is one of the many things that Sustainable Farms and Fields funding can be used for.
If you are not familiar with this program which started in 2023, it can provide FREE cover crop and pasture seed if they are planted via no-till drill, FREE native plants to implement hedgerows, silvopasture, and riparian or upland plantings, FREE compost or manure for land application, and cost share funding for such things as temporary or permanent cross fencing to implement rotational grazing, biochar kilns, manure spreaders, no-till, seed drills, and tractor GPS precision guidance systems. Visit the Sustainable Farms and Fields webpage for more information and for a more comprehensive list of potential practices, or contact your local PCD farm planner with your ideas! We would love to help fund your project! If you aren’t already working with someone at PCD, please contact Rene’ Skaggs, PCD Farm Planning and Agriculture Assistance Program Director at 253 325-8367 or renes@piercecd.org and she will send you to the correct person.
Sustainable Farms and Fields funding paid for the seed that was no-till drilled into the Schwartz’s existing pasture to improve the stand density.