Innovative Agriculture and Marketing Partnership for Idaho

Notice: _On April 14, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC). The USDA plans to reform the program into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. Contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) for more information on how to apply to the AMP initiative. _

A Public-Private-Tribal Partnership

This project will build climate-smart markets and increase adoption of climate-smart practices on up to 200 producers in Idaho through the provision of financial and technical assistance to producers, with a focus on barley, beef, chickpea, potatoes, sugar, wheat, and hops.

66% of project funding goes directly to producers as incentives for implementing a variety of practices including cover crops, no-till, biochar, cover crops with livestock grazing, interseeding of legumes and precision fertilizer application.

The measurement and monitoring system are planned to be based on field and laboratory measurements using a spatially nested design to facilitate scaling-up of project results. The Carbon Management Evaluation Tools (COMET-Farm) are planned to be utilized throughout the project to establish baselines; this project also plans to generate data from field measurements of GHG emissions that will be used to improve COMET and other models for use within the western U.S.

This project plans to focus on seven key commodities in Idaho with national and international markets: barley, beef, chickpea, potatoes, sugar, wheat, hops and specialty crops. At least 30% of enrolled producers are planned to be from underserved communities, including mostly veterans, women, and small producers.

The project has resumed under the USDA Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative; applications are not open yet, and producers will be notified by email when they open.

Farmers and ranchers of Idaho's major commodities located anywhere in the state are eligible to apply.

Average program payments are estimated at $60 an acre, dependent on the crop and practice involved — with the exception of the soil carbon amendments, which are paid on tiered scales based on the application rate: biochar from $205 to $1,435 an acre, and compost from $225 to $435 an acre. An optional $7,500 marketing stipend is available for producers who choose to participate in IAMP's marketing development initiatives, with no requirement to sell exclusively through any particular channel.

Status. Applications are not open yet. The IAMP site reads "Applications will open soon — check back for details." Producers will be notified by email when applications open.

New producers. The project team says: "We will not know until May 2027 if we are able to open the project to new producers, due to the time constraints of the grant."

Contracts. All participating producers, regardless of previous contract status, will need to work with the IAMP team to sign a new contract.

Questions? Email the IAMP team.

• IAMP FAQ

• USDA reinstates $59M University of Idaho farming grant (University of Idaho newsroom, April 29, 2026)