Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Nebraska Department of Agriculture

Interested landowners contact their local Natural Resources District (NRD) or USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office to begin the application.

The Nebraska Buffer Strip Program, administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture from fees assessed on registered pesticides, enrolls cropland adjacent to perennial and seasonal streams, ponds, and wetlands in buffer strips designed to filter agrichemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides. Two kinds of buffer strips are eligible: filter strips (narrow strips of grass, minimum width 20 feet, maximum 120 feet) and riparian forest buffer strips (trees and grass, minimum width 55 feet, maximum 180 feet). It can be&#x2004;used in conjunction with the USDA CRP, CREP, or other programs, or by itself, and offers rental rates for irrigated and non-irrigated cropland. Rental rates (per acre): irrigated cropland with CRP/CREP/other government-funded programs = $250/acre minus payments from other programs; irrigated cropland without = $225/acre minus other program payments; non-irrigated cropland with CRP/CREP/other = 20% of the average CRP soil rental rate; non-irrigated cropland without = 120% of the average CRP soil rental rate plus $5/acre, minus any other program payment. In no case may payments from all programs exceed $250 per acre.



The Nebraska Buffer Strip Program, administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture from fees assessed on registered pesticides, enrolls cropland adjacent to perennial and seasonal streams, ponds, and wetlands in buffer strips designed to filter agrichemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides. Two kinds of buffer strips are eligible: filter strips (narrow strips of grass, minimum width 20 feet, maximum 120 feet) and riparian forest buffer strips (trees and grass, minimum width 55 feet, maximum 180 feet). It can be used in conjunction with the USDA CRP, CREP, or other programs, or by itself, and offers rental rates for irrigated and non-irrigated cropland. Rental rates (per acre): irrigated cropland with CRP/CREP/other government-funded programs = $250/acre minus payments from other programs; irrigated cropland without = $225/acre minus other program payments; non-irrigated cropland with CRP/CREP/other = 20% of the average CRP soil rental rate; non-irrigated cropland without = 120% of the average CRP soil rental rate plus $5/acre, minus any other program payment. In no case may payments from all programs exceed $250 per acre.

Nebraska landowners with cropland adjacent to perennial and seasonal streams, ponds, and wetlands. Filter strips must be a minimum of 20 feet wide (maximum 120 feet); riparian forest buffer strips a minimum of 55 feet wide (maximum 180 feet).

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Air Quality

Carbon Capture

Certification

High Tunnel

Landscape

Regenerative

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Certified Organic

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

Water Management

Paid as an annual per-acre rental rate, not as a lump-sum award. The rate depends on whether the ground is irrigated and whether you are stacking this with a federal program:

- "For irrigated cropland where CRP, CREP, or other governmentally-funded programs are also used, rental rates are $250 per acre minus payments from the other programs."
- "For irrigated cropland where CRP, CREP, or other governmentally-funded programs are not used, the rental rate is $225 per acre minus any other program payments."
- "For non-irrigated cropland enrolled in CRP, CREP or other governmentally-funded programs, the rental rate is equal to 20% of the average CRP soil rental rate."
- "For non-irrigated cropland without CRP, CREP, or other governmentally-funded programs, the rental rate per acre is equal to 120% of the average CRP soil rental rate plus $5 per acre, minus the payment rate from any other programs."

Hard ceiling across all sources: "In no case may payments from all programs exceed $250 per acre." Because the state rate is computed net of federal payments, stacking CRP or CREP does not raise your total — it changes who pays which share.

Other value in the deal. Beyond rent, the program offers "incentives for partnering with other government programs" and "incidental haying and grazing allowances."

Eligibility dimensions that determine how many acres you can enroll. Filter strips (grass) must be at least 20 feet wide and no more than 120 feet; riparian forest buffer strips (trees and grass) at least 55 feet and no more than 180 feet. Only cropland adjacent to perennial and seasonal streams, ponds, and wetlands qualifies.

Not published: no contract length, no total per-landowner dollar cap, no absolute award ceiling, no cost-share percentage for establishment, and no application fee appear on the program page. The program is funded from fees assessed on registered pesticides. Enrollment runs through your local Natural Resources District or the NRCS office, and those offices set the contract paperwork.

Applicants complete NextGen applications and forms (available at nextgen.nebraska.gov/forms.html). Effective 11/20/25, a board-approved balance sheet and cash-flow statement must be submitted. The PPTE deadline to apply is September 1st of the year preceding the year for which exemptions are sought; approved applicants receive an Eligibility Certificate to present with Nebraska Department of Revenue Exemption Application Form 1027 to the County Assessor by December 31st.

Holle Evert

NextGen utilizes Nebraska's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act to help new producers get a head start in farming and ranching while giving back to farmers and ranchers who own agricultural assets. An asset owner receives a refundable Nebraska income tax credit each year for a minimum three-year lease with an eligible beginning farmer/rancher: 10% of the cash rent, or 15% of the value of&#x2004;share-crop rent, received each year for three years. A qualifying beginning farmer/rancher may also qualify for the Personal Property Tax Exemption (PPTE) on personal property used in production agriculture valued up to $100,000, exempt from Nebraska personal property taxes each year for three consecutive years, and may receive a one-time state income tax credit for the actual cost of participation in an approved financial management program, up to a maximum of $500. As of 10/01/25 the beginning farmer net worth limit is $750,000.



NextGen utilizes Nebraska's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act to help new producers get a head start in farming and ranching while giving back to farmers and ranchers who own agricultural assets. An asset owner receives a refundable Nebraska income tax credit each year for a minimum three-year lease with an eligible beginning farmer/rancher: 10% of the cash rent, or 15% of the value of share-crop rent, received each year for three years. A qualifying beginning farmer/rancher may also qualify for the Personal Property Tax Exemption (PPTE) on personal property used in production agriculture valued up to $100,000, exempt from Nebraska personal property taxes each year for three consecutive years, and may receive a one-time state income tax credit for the actual cost of participation in an approved financial management program, up to a maximum of $500. As of 10/01/25 the beginning farmer net worth limit is $750,000.

Beginning farmers/ranchers seeking to rent agricultural assets under a minimum three-year lease (the beginning farmer may be a relative if the parties meet succession-plan requirements), subject to a net worth limit of $750,000 (as of 10/01/25). Asset owners who lease agricultural assets to an eligible beginning farmer/rancher qualify for the refundable tax credit.

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

Historically Underserved

Legal & Finance

Transition

Delivered as tax credits and exemptions, not a cash award, so there is no dollar award ceiling — the benefit scales with your rent.

For the asset owner (the landlord). "An asset owner will receive a refundable tax credit equal to 10% of the cash rent or 15% of the value of the share crop rent received each year for three years." The credit is refundable, so it pays out even if it exceeds your Nebraska tax liability. NDA's own worked examples:
- Cash rent: "100 acres x $300 cash rent per acre = $30,000 total cash rent x 10% = $3,000 each year for three years for a total of $9,000"
- Share crop rent: "100 acres x 200 bushels per acre x 50% (owner's share) = 10,000 bushels x $5.00 = $50,000 for owners share x 15% = $7,500 each year for three years for a total of $22,500"
- Cow/calf share rent: "100 calves x 50% (owner's share) = 50 calves x $800 (value of animal at time of division of calves) = $40,000 x 15% = $6,000 each year for three years for a total of $18,000"

Contract length is the gate on the whole deal. The owner must "Sign a minimum of a three-year lease agreement on a farm or ranch," and the credit runs for those three years. "The beginning farmer may be a relative if the parties meet the succession plan requirements."

For the beginning farmer/rancher. Two separate benefits:
- Personal Property Tax Exemption — "Personal property used in production agriculture or horticulture, valued up to $100,000, may be exempted from Nebraska personal property taxes," and "The tax exemption may be received each year for three consecutive years." Note $100,000 is a property valuation limit, not a payment. "you do not need to rent from someone to be eligible for the PPTE."
- Financial management reimbursement — "A qualified beginning farmer/rancher may receive a one-time state income tax credit for the actual cost of participation in an approved financial management program incurred during the tax year for which the credit is claimed, up to a maximum of $500." One time only, and it reimburses actual cost, so it can be less than $500.

Eligibility limit that caps who qualifies, not what you get. "As of 10/01/25 the beginning farmer net worth limit is set at $750,000."

Timing that can cost you a year. The PPTE "Deadline to apply is September 1st of the year preceding the year for which exemptions are sought." Approved applicants get an Eligibility Certificate, which must be presented "to your County Assessor by December 31st for approval along with Nebraska Department of Revenue Exemption Application Form 1027."

NDA announces a competitive solicitation via a Request for Concept Proposals (FY 2026). Interested applicants apply through the link provided on NDA's SCBGP page; an FY 2025 application webinar recording is available for reference.

Casey Foster

The Specialty Crop Block Grant&#x2004;Program (SCBGP) is a federally funded program, administered in Nebraska by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). NDA runs a competitive solicitation process and anticipates awarding approximately $820,000 to projects enhancing the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops. A maximum grant award does not exist, and neither NDA nor the SCBGP requires a cost-sharing or matching requirement; all projects are subject to the availability of funds.



The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) is a federally funded program, administered in Nebraska by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). NDA runs a competitive solicitation process and anticipates awarding approximately $820,000 to projects enhancing the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops. A maximum grant award does not exist, and neither NDA nor the SCBGP requires a cost-sharing or matching requirement; all projects are subject to the availability of funds.

Applicants proposing projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery/floriculture crops). Refer to the USDA specialty crop definition for the full list of approved specialty crops.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Farmers Market

Trials

Trade Relief

Food Systems

NDA states plainly that there is no ceiling and no match: "NDA anticipates awarding approximately $820,000 to projects enhancing the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops. A maximum grant award does not exist and neither NDA nor the SCBGP requires a cost sharing or matching requirement. All projects are subject to the availability of funds."

So an applicant may request what the project actually costs, with no cap and no obligation to put up matching dollars. Two caveats come straight from the same passage: awards are subject to the availability of funds, and "NDA reserves the right to offer an award amount less than the amount requested" — a full request is not a guaranteed full award.

The $820,000 is the total pool NDA expects to distribute across all funded projects for the round, not a per-applicant figure.

All funding must go to projects that "solely enhance the competitiveness of Nebraska specialty crops" (fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery/floriculture crops). No interest rate, fee, cost-share percentage, or contract length applies — this is a competitive federal block-grant pass-through, awarded through NDA's Request for Concept Proposals.

List of Nebraska Department of Agriculture Funding Opportunities