Fibershed Healthy Soils Program Block Grant

Funding for fiber farmers and ranchers

Fibershed is funded by CDFA to provide technical assistance to CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program (HSP) grant applicants, free of charge.

Fibershed’s Healthy Soils Program Block Grant seeks to provide free technical assistance and financial resources to farmers and ranchers interesting in adopting climate-beneficial agricultural management practices in eight counties: Merced, Kings, Fresno, Humboldt, Modoc, Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, and Solano counties.

Fibershed’s HSP Block Grant is dedicated to supporting these farms and producers in implementing conservation management practices that improve soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gasses. Applications for projects will be scored based on the following criteria: 

1. Fiber producer of cotton or wool and Fibershed producers
2. The Program will allocate at least 25% of funding to support Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR), defined by California’s 2017 Farmer Equity Act as a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.
   1. The covered groups include the following: African Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
3. Additional projects will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

​Approximately 30 on-farm projects will be selected during the 4-year lifetime of this grant. Projects will be awarded until funds have been exhausted. If you are interested in participating in the Fibershed Healthy Soils Program, please fill out the Prescreen Form 

We can offer help with completing and submitting your application, and if approved, we are here to guide you through implementing your farming practices over the three-year award period as well as preparing reporting documentation for your project.