Colorado Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources Program

Updates from the Colorado Soil Health Program

 Friends,

You have likely heard that the CDA, our partners, and producers have had a rocky few weeks as we deal with the cancellation of our Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant (PCSC).

Unfortunately, losing these funds will reduce our ability to provide much-needed technical assistance and incentive payments to the hundreds of spectacular farmers and ranchers who we have worked with over the last few years. Though this has been an unexpected setback, the Colorado Soil Health Program and our efforts to assist producers on their soil health journeys are not over.

CDA was the only state department of agriculture to be a main awardee for PCSC grant funds, and through some new state funding opportunities, Colorado will continue to be a leader in the national movement towards healthier soil. We will keep you informed as we work towards this new future for our program, and we look forward to continuing to work with our wonderful Colorado ag communities in new ways. 

Thank you,

John Miller (Program Manager) and the entire CSHP Team

The Colorado Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources (STAR) Program is a free and voluntary tool to inspire producers, give bragging rights, and structure conversations around soil health. STAR is a practice-based rating system that assigns points for the following soil health practices: cropping, tillage, nutrient application, and other best management practices based upon a 10-minute form that producers fill out about each field. As a result, the farmer or rancher receives a STAR rating from 1-5 stars that help them understand how well they are doing in promoting soil health and upholding the 5 principles of soil health:

• Soil Armor

• Minimize Soil Disturbance

• Plant Diversity

• Continual Live Plant/Root

• Livestock Integration

STAR could become a market signal to pay producers more for products grown using healthy soils practices and provide an onramp to other opportunities.

Open to Colorado farmers and ranchers — but not currently taking new participants.

Who. Individual producers operating in Colorado. STAR is described as "a free and voluntary tool to inspire producers, give bragging rights, and structure conversations around soil health," rated from "a 10-minute form that producers fill out about each field," after which "the farmer or rancher receives a STAR rating from 1-5 stars." No acreage minimum, income floor or ceiling, ownership or tenure requirement, commodity restriction, or audience priority (beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged) is published anywhere on the source pages.

Where. Colorado. CDA runs STAR inside the Colorado Soil Health Program, which CDA describes as "a voluntary, producer-driven initiative."

Unit of enrollment. The field, not the farm — one STAR assessment form per field.

Verification if you enroll. "Individual producers who have submitted a STAR field assessment form to CDA will be subject to random verification by a CDA employee." That is a paperwork check rather than a site visit: receipts, invoices, dated photographs, harvest logs, FSA Form 578 or NRCS records.

Status — read this before applying. The program is not currently accepting new applicants. CDA has said that losing the cancelled USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant "will reduce our ability to provide much-needed technical assistance and incentive payments to the hundreds of spectacular farmers and ranchers who we have worked with over the last few years," and CDA's live Soil Health Program page no longer lists STAR at all. CDA's current soil-health funding is the separate Soil Health and Optimizing Water (SHOW) grant, and "SHOW Applications are closed for 2026." Confirm current status with the Colorado Soil Health Program at cda_soil@state.co.us before assuming you can join.

Individual producers who have submitted a STAR field assessment form to CDA will be subject to random verification by a CDA employee. This verification process does not require a field visit, but rather will involve the submission of documentation showing the practices indicated in the STAR Form. Documentation may include receipts, invoices, dated photographs, harvest logs, FSA Form 578, NRCS records, harvest logs, and other commonly kept records.

Due to federal funding cancellations, this program is not currently accepting new applicants.

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