Building Appalachian Agricultural Resilience (BAAR)

Building Appalachian Agricultural Resilience (BAAR) is Accelerating Appalachia's farmer funding program for regenerative and conservation agriculture across Central/Southern Appalachia and the rural Southeast. It provides cash incentives, technical training in conservation agriculture, and help reaching buyers and markets.

The program began as Building Soil, Building Equity under USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities and now continues under USDA's Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. Applications are taken through an online form.

• Farms in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and listed counties of northern Georgia and southern Ohio.

• Projects should be a minimum of 10 acres.

• Eligible commodities: beef, livestock, cotton, fruits, pork, row crops, specialty crops and wool. Rice, hemp and crustacean production cannot be incentivized.

• You must control the land you enroll, as owner or with a 3 to 5 year lease.

• You must have established farm records with USDA and be compliant with highly erodible land (HEL) and wetland requirements to receive funds.

• Farmers already using an approved practice may also apply.

How it works. Accelerating Appalachia pays incentives for adopting approved regenerative practices. Depending on the practice, you receive either 80% or 50% upfront, with the remaining payments issued upon verification of implementation. No match is required from the farmer.

Participation payment. Enrolled farmers receive $1000 annually for completing the annual report and soil sampling. Participants sign up for the duration of the program incentives (3 to 5 years) and take a yearly soil sample.

Practice rates (implementation incentives).

• 311 Alley Cropping: $1000/acre

• 328 Conservation Crop Rotations: $75/acre

• 340 Cover Crops: $75/acre

• 345 Reduced Tillage: $75/acre

• 379 Forest Farming: $400/acre

• 381 Silvopasture: $1000/acre

• 386 Field Borders: $400/acre

• 391 Riparian Buffers: $1000/acre

• 422 Hedgerow Plantings: $400/acre

• 484 Mulching: $75/acre

• 528 Prescribed Grazing: $300/acre

• 612 Tree & Shrub Establishment: $1000/acre

• 666 Forest Stand Improvement: $1000/acre

Supplemental practices. Fence (382), woody residue treatment (384), wildlife habitat planting (420, $400/acre), microirrigation (441), tree/shrub site preparation (490, $75/acre), nutrient management (590), habitat management (645, $1000/acre) and tree/shrub pruning (660, $75/acre) can be added once you are enrolled in at least one primary practice.

Apply online through the application form linked from the "Apply Now" button on Accelerating Appalachia's Farmer Incentives page. Applications are reviewed through a competitive selection process, and selection is not guaranteed.

Applicants approved after August 28, 2025 must complete a CPA-52, a federal environmental evaluation, with their Technical Assistance Specialist before funding is distributed for implementation.

Questions: hello@acceleratingappalachia.org.

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