Sustainable Grazing initiative

2020

Grants made during this year were renewals to our 2017 grantees.

Land Stewardship Project: $175,000 for project support for advancing sustainable grazing in Minnesota. LSP will use farmer-to-farmer peer education to engage mid-size farmers in Minnesota with information and inspiration about soil health and how re-integrating livestock onto cropland can improve their yield, resilience, and profit.

Practical Farmers of Iowa: $175,000 for project support for the livestock program. PFI will use farmer-led, on-farm research to demonstrate the value of regenerative grazing, and to inspire a range of Iowa farmers to try something new, with a focus on increasing perennial pasture.  Their media campaign will expose more than 1 million Iowans to information about the economic and ecological benefits of regenerative grazing systems.

Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development $150,000 for project support for the Pasture Project. This project will both 1) inspire corn & soybean farmers in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to improve their soil health by grazing cover crops in the winter, and 2) partner with public agencies in Wisconsin and beyond to expand sustainable grazing on public lands.

2019

Defenders of Wildlife & White Mountain Apache Tribe: $100,000 in year 1, $110,000 in year 2, $120,000 in year 3 for project support to  employ regenerative grazing as a tool to reduce livestock deaths from wolves.  Defenders will expand their existing partnership with tribal ranchers through training in regenerative grazing practices and ongoing support.  A majority of the grant funds will be regranted to the tribe for staffing, training and infrastructure needs. 

Intertribal Agriculture Council Inc.: $125,000 x 3 years for project support to train IAC's national network of native technical assistance providers in regenerative grazing practices, and to hire a full-time grazing specialist to support the advisors and work directly with tribes that seek to adopt regenerative grazing.  This work will create visibility for regenerative grazing. 

Piikani Lodge Health Institute for the Blackfeet Nation Regenerative Grazing Initiative: $110,000 in year 1, $100,000 in years 2 & 3 for project support of the Blackfeet Tribe’s efforts to rebuild soil health through grazing.  The tribe will conduct a full baseline soil health assessment, contract with expert advisors to train their ranchers, and provide a sub-grant for soil health consultants at Cornell University.

Sustainable Markets Foundation: $10,000 x 2 years for project support for the Herd Fellows scholarship fund.

Tanka Fund:  $80,000 x 1 year for project support of re-establishing bison on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  Tanka Fund will engage all bison producers on the reservation to assess their needs, support their expansion with micro grants, and assist with grazing plans.  They will also appeal to cattlemen to switch to bison, which are more profitable.

United Tribes of Kansas & Southeast Nebraska for Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska: $75,000 x 3 years for project support to restore the health and profitability of the Tribe's degraded land through regenerative grazing.  Funds will be applied to fencing, training, consultants, and staff.  Tribal college students will be engaged in the work. 

2018

National Audubon Society: $175,000 x 3 years for project support of the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program. This will help expand Audubon’s new “Bird Friendly Beef” certification program that provides market incentives for ranchers to adopt regenerative grazing practices. This program uses the Audubon name to build the market for grass-fed beef and promote a cultural shift in how grazing is perceived.

Quivira Coalition: $65,000 x 3 years for project support of the New Agrarian Program. This will support the expansion of Quivira’s 8-month New Agrarian Apprenticeship program into several new states; this program is training a new generation of ranchers in regenerative practices.

University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture: $150,000 x 3 years for project support of a New England Grazing Network. UVM’s Pasture Program will lead an effort to align the efforts of multiple state-level grazing organizations across New England. This network will increase their collective reach, impact and efficiency. This grant also supports the core budget of each organization in the network.

Western Sustainability Exchange: $120,000 in years 1 & 2, and $90,000 in yr 3, for project support of the Montana Grasslands Carbon Initiative. This new initiative will increase regenerative grazing in Montana by piloting a carbon-offset program to reward ranchers for practices that sequester carbon. Native Energy, a company that specializes in creating carbon-negative projects such as wind or solar farms, is a partner in this project and will sell the carbon offsets.

2017

Land Stewardship Project: $175,000 x 3 years for project support for advancing sustainable grazing in Minnesota. LSP will use farmer-to-farmer peer education to engage mid-size farmers in Minnesota with information and inspiration about soil health and how re-integrating livestock onto cropland can improve their yield, resilience, and profit.

Practical Farmers of Iowa: $175,000 x 3 years for project support for the livestock program. PFI will use farmer-led, on-farm research to demonstrate the value of regenerative grazing, and to inspire a range of Iowa farmers to try something new, with a focus on increasing perennial pasture.  Their media campaign will expose more than 1 million Iowans to information about the economic and ecological benefits of regenerative grazing systems.

Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development $150,000 x 3 years for project support for the Pasture Project. This project will both 1) inspire corn & soybean farmers in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to improve their soil health by grazing cover crops in the winter, and 2) partner with public agencies in Wisconsin and beyond to expand sustainable grazing on public lands.

For more information on how to apply though this program, please head here.