Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative

Step 1: fill out the interest form (https://forms.gle/sw6UsbBM2c5QhNXW7). Step 2: short introductory call. Step 3: submit field boundaries/maps, crop type and floor-management history (due October 16 for the 2027 vintage). Step 4: Recover Ag baseline soil sampling. No contract for initial enrollment; a contract is signed when credits are sold.

Deadline text on the page: In order to be included for the 2027 vintage, we need this information by October 16. (Fields that miss the deadline can enroll later and join a future vintage.) Recover Ag expects to issue the program's first credits in February 2027. Cover crops should be planted before January 15 to be eligible for credits to be issued at the end of the year.

General office

Ariana Gehrig

OBC Program Manager

A soil-carbon removal credit project for California&#x2004;permanent-crop growers (orchards and vineyards) who are members of the Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative. Growers keep living cover on the soil, minimize tillage, or incorporate tree and vine biomass as chips or biochar at redevelopment; Recover Ag measures soil carbon change and OBC sells the resulting credits to corporate buyers and passes payments to growers. Two tracks: Soil Health Builder for growers new to cover and Soil Health Trailblazer for growers who have kept cover for years.



A soil-carbon removal credit project for California permanent-crop growers (orchards and vineyards) who are members of the Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative. Growers keep living cover on the soil, minimize tillage, or incorporate tree and vine biomass as chips or biochar at redevelopment; Recover Ag measures soil carbon change and OBC sells the resulting credits to corporate buyers and passes payments to growers. Two tracks: Soil Health Builder for growers new to cover and Soil Health Trailblazer for growers who have kept cover for years.

- Members of the Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative (active membership must be maintained).
- Grow permanent crops in California.
- Implement eligible carbon-storing practices (continuous living cover, minimized tillage, biomass incorporation as chips or biochar).
- Any size operation.

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

Cost Share

10-year crediting period; fields can be removed without penalty with timely notice (compensated for carbon accumulated through the end of the previous season). Reporting through the Cropland Stewardship Service app; re-measurement of a statistical sample of fields every five years; project monitors fields for reversals for 40 years.

Published amounts: Up to $100/year/acre, depending on credit sales; payments are a function of tons of carbon stored, price per ton paid by the buyer, and net proceeds after transaction fees and program administration costs.

Fill out the interest form on the Advancing Markets for Producers page to get started.

Visit the program website for contact information.

**Update (2026):** This project continues under the USDA Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative, building on the prior Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities work. Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative reopened enrollment (October 2025), offering up to $13,750 per producer to cover the cost of perennial cover seed. Details: [obc.ag](https://www.obc.ag/advancing-markets-for-producers).


In this pilot project, producers would&#x2004;receive cost-share, technical assistance, capital investment and marketing support for using Oakville bluegrass cover crop in their commercial specialty crop operations. In addition to the creation and sale of carbon offsets, Oakville bluegrass plantings would give producers the opportunity to engage in climate-smart insetting, the practice of applying GHG offsets to one’s own supply chain.


The project partner would seek further underserved producer membership through co-op director Nav Athwal’s network of over 200 Punjabi American producers.



Update (2026): This project continues under the USDA Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative, building on the prior Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities work. Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative reopened enrollment (October 2025), offering up to $13,750 per producer to cover the cost of perennial cover seed. Details: obc.ag.

In this pilot project, producers would receive cost-share, technical assistance, capital investment and marketing support for using Oakville bluegrass cover crop in their commercial specialty crop operations. In addition to the creation and sale of carbon offsets, Oakville bluegrass plantings would give producers the opportunity to engage in climate-smart insetting, the practice of applying GHG offsets to one’s own supply chain.

The project partner would seek further underserved producer membership through co-op director Nav Athwal’s network of over 200 Punjabi American producers.

Individual producers apply directly, and OBC publishes an explicit "Eligibility" list:

- "Domestically owned farms"
- "Located in California, Oregon, Washington, or Arizona"
- "Acres enrolled should not be receiving other USDA funds for the same practice"

The program requirements document (v04.28.26) adds a crop test the web page leaves out, and it is the one most likely to disqualify you. Eligibility "is restricted to farms meeting all of the following criteria: Domestically owned farms; Located in California, Oregon, Washington, or Arizona; Perennial cropping systems: wine grapes, almonds, and other specialty crops; Acres enrolled should not be receiving other USDA funds for the same practice." This is a perennial specialty-crop program — annual row-crop ground does not fit.

The practices are also narrow: "Incentives and materials are provided for the following NRCS Conservation Practices: 327 - Conservation cover; 329 - No-till/low till - residue & tillage management." You must be planting perennial conservation cover and committing to no-till/low-till.

FSA registration is required before you can sign. "The producer is required to provide the necessary FSA data to OBC to be considered an 'agricultural producer' under the program": "Establish Farm Records with the Farm Service Agency (FSA), including having farm, tract, and field numbers in place"; "Complete an AD-2047 (Customer Data Worksheet)"; "Certify highly erodible land conservation (HEL) and wetland conservation (WC) compliance via Form AD-1026"; and "Certify that they are not a foreign person or entity." You then hand OBC your farm, tract and field numbers, "A 'Subsidiary Print' from the FSA... and any farm maps provided," and "OBC staff will complete the Environmental Evaluation Worksheet (EE, CPA-52)." New to FSA? Growers "needing to establish FSA records for the first time are encouraged to contact or visit their local FSA office for assistance with the process."

What is NOT an eligibility test: the acreage figures (first 10 acres, next 100 acres) are payment tiers, not thresholds — there is no acreage minimum. No income limit is published, and cooperative membership is not stated as a requirement.

Timing: "The Deadline for the 2026 season is August 28th" — now past. Ask OBC (info@obc.ag) whether a further season is opening before counting on this.

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

Grant

Specialty Crops

Aloe Leaves

Blackberries

Fruits

Honey

Horticulture

Mamey Sapote

Maple Syrup

Mustard Greens

Parsnips

Passion Fruit

Pineapples

Plantains

Pummelos

Raspberries

Rutabagas

Tree Nuts

Vegetables

Abiu

Achachairu

Antidesma

Apples

Apricots

Bananas

Barbados Cherry

Blueberries

Breadfruit

Cacao

Caimito

Calabaza Melon

Canary Melon

Canary Seed

Caneberries

Canistel

Cantaloupes

Casaba Melon

Cherries

Chinese Bitter Melon

Chokeberry

Citron

Citron Melon

Coconuts

Cranberries

Crenshaw Melon

Custard Apple

Dates

Dragon Fruit

Durian

Elderberries

Figs

Genip

Goji

Gooseberries

Grapefruit

Grapes

Guava

Guavaberry

Honeyberries

Honeydew

Huckleberries

Israel Melons

Jack Fruit

Jujube

Juneberries

Kiwiberry

Kiwifruit

Korean Golden Melon

Kumquats

Langsat

Lemons

Limequats

Limes

Longan

Loquats

Lychee

Mangos

Mangosteen

Mayhaw Berries

Mesple

Mulberries

Nectarines

Oranges

Papaya

Passion Fruits

Pawpaw

Peaches

Pears

Pineapple

Plantain

Plumcots

Plums

Pomegranates

Prunes

Pummelo

Raisins

Rambutan

Sapodilla

Sapote

Schizandra Berries

Soursop

Sprite Melon

Star Fruit

Star Gooseberry

Strawberries

Sugar Apple

Tangelos

Tangerines

Tangors

Wampee

Watermelon

Wax Jamboo Fruit

Winter Melon

Apiary

Anise

Basil

Cassava

Chia

Cinnamon

Ground Cherry

Wine

Cilantro

Boston Lettuce

Green Leaf Lettuce

Iceberg Lettuce

Lolla Rossa Lettuce

Oak Leaf Lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Dry Onions

Green Onions

Bell Peppers

Potato Seeds

Processing Potatoes

Russet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Zucchini

Turnip Top

USDA Advancing Markets for Producers money paid through Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative to cover perennial cover-crop seed: "The USDA's Advancing Markets for Producers initiative is a grant program that provides up to $13,750 per producer to cover the cost of perennial cover seed."

How it splits, when you plant perennial cover crops / conservation cover and commit to no-till:

- First 10 acres of planted seed: "100% grant funded for up to $3750 for perennial seed cost." "Grower prepays shipping, sales tax; OBC will coordinate for lowest available shipping costs."
- Next 100 acres of planted seed: "Additional incentive of $100/acre for the next 100 acres of perennial seed (first come first served)." "Grower pays shipping, sales tax and cost of seed exceeding $100/acre for seed."
- Freight is excluded from the grant.

Non-cash benefits: a Grower's Guide if Oakville bluegrass is the selected cover, invitations to annual educational events, "Guidance and support to manage carbon farming projects," and "Grant processing support to meet environmental readiness as required by law."

Conditions: domestically owned farms in California, Oregon, Washington or Arizona; "Acres enrolled should not be receiving other USDA funds for the same practice." You must supply FSA farm, tract and field numbers, completed Forms AD-2407 and AD-1026, and an FSA subsidiary print; "All projects will also be evaluated with CPA-52."

Deadline: "The Deadline for the 2026 season is August 28th."

List of Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative Funding Opportunities