Advancing U.S. Pork Sustainability and Market Value Grant

The Advancing U.S. Pork Sustainability and Market Value Grant is a conservation program funded by USDA's Advancing Markets for Producers program and administered by the National Pork Board. It helps pork producers implement eligible sustainability practices through financial incentives and technical support, while measuring and documenting their environmental progress through the Pork Cares Farm Impact Report.

USDA approved an amendment that expands eligibility from 12 participating states to all contiguous states with a participating state pork association, and increases financial assistance for several practices. $20 million in federal funding, matched with $10 million from Nestle and $5 million in Pork Checkoff funds, provides a total of $35 million to support producers.

• Pork producers in a contiguous state with a participating state pork association: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY.

• Producers must first complete the required Pork Cares Farm Impact Report for their operation.

Payment. Incentives by practice:

• Cover crops: $50/acre for multi-species cover crops

• Livestock integration: 60% cost reimbursement

• Conservation tillage: $10/acre for new acres; $6/acre for early adopters

• Manure management: $0.02/gallon for additional pumping, up to 1,000,000 gallons per Premise ID

• Grass buffers: $600/acre

• Energy-efficient practices: 80% cost reimbursement for LED lighting; up to $15,000 for heat mats

• Pork Cares Farm Impact Report: $500 annual incentive for completing the report

Other support. The Farm Impact Report is a confidential sustainability assessment that benchmarks your operation against state and national averages and gives practical recommendations to improve efficiency, profitability and long-term resilience.

The first step is to complete the required Pork Cares Farm Impact Report for your operation.

1. Sign up for a Pork Cares Farm Impact Report through the Pork Checkoff sustainability page.

2. Complete the report with Eocene Environmental Group. An Eocene technician, such as an agronomist or livestock specialist, helps collect the on-farm data.

3. With Eocene's support, create a sustainable continuous implementation plan tailored to your farm.

4. Receive technical assistance from partners such as Eocene, Ducks Unlimited and Millborn Seeds; Farm Credit provides financial training.

5. Submit your grant application through the National Pork Board, which manages the approval process and administers payments.

6. Eocene helps you collect practice impact data and upload it to the We Care Dashboard.

• Sample Pork Cares Impact Report