Regenerate Virginia Healthy Soils Grant

The purpose of the Healthy Soils Grant Program is to make the pursuit of soil health more accessible for producers and land managers across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Offered in partnership with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, American Farmland Trust's Healthy Soils Grant encourages partners and producers to pilot innovative and impactful ideas — at the field level, the classroom level, or the market level — supporting the ongoing efforts of producers and partners while fostering innovation and enhanced education and outreach.

Taking a "complete, not compete" partnership-based approach, the Program seeks to fund ideas that innovatively fill gaps and address barriers to adoption of soil health-building systems while incentivizing the adoption of practices and transformation of systems that go above and beyond current standards. The Program aims to support farmers and ideas that are ineligible for other programs. The grant encourages regenerative approaches that improve resilience, enhance profitability, and accelerate systems-level change.

The grant is one of two tracks of AFT's statewide Regenerate Virginia initiative (alongside the Farm Vitality Grant), made possible by generous anonymous supporters and AFT's national Brighter Future Fund. Launched in 2020, the Brighter Future Fund helps farmers nationwide navigate challenges from climate impacts to market volatility while advancing equity, resilience, and opportunity across agriculture.

Status: The Program runs an annual application window in December. Applications for the most recent cycle were accepted December 1–19, 2025, and are now closed; recipients were to be announced in early 2026. AFT has not published dates for the next cycle. Spanish-language guidelines and application are also posted.

The following are eligible applicants:

• Individual farmers operating in Virginia, including nonprofit or for-profit farms, who have not previously been awarded a Regenerate Virginia Healthy Soils grant

• Groups of farmers, including producer associations

Eligible costs include farm labor (excluding payroll and salaries); equipment purchase or rental; farm inputs and operating costs, including insurance; payments to technical service providers, consultants, or advisors; infrastructure; and purchase of livestock, seeds, or plants.

Projects must:

• Be entirely located in Virginia

• Address one or more of the principles of soil health, ideally through an innovative or holistic systems approach

• Include an educational/outreach component (e.g. field day, case study, social media output)

• Include a description of the way soil health will be assessed

• Have a project completion date of no more than 2 years from the time of receipt of funds (applicants select a one- or two-year grant period at the time of application)

• Be willing to share findings and results, including possibly collaborating with AFT or Virginia Soil Health Coalition partners to collect and analyze relevant data

Farm size is not a consideration for project selection. There are no minimum or maximum acreage requirements.

Applications are evaluated on the viability of the concept, the degree to which the project addresses the principles of soil health, the communications and outreach plan, and evidence of farmer commitment (e.g. a history of experimenting with soil health practices; previous participation in soil health educational trainings, field days, or opportunities; matching funds in the form of cash or labor outlays committed to the project by the farmer(s); how the project will be sustained long-term; or how the project meets the overall goals of the farm business).

The program prioritizes support to farmers who have experienced barriers to capital and other resources, and encourages Virginia farmers from all backgrounds to apply, including beginning farmers, limited-resource farmers, farmers of color, women farmers, veterans, LGBTQ+ farmers, and farmers with disabilities.

• Awards: up to $30,000 for an individual farmer, or up to $50,000 for a group of farmers

• Priority funding is allocated to proposals that include a system of practices working in combination to achieve synergistic outcomes; go beyond practices eligible for traditional cost-share opportunities (because they are more experimental or innovative, or because they take a holistic approach combining several practices); and engage local conservation practitioners including Soil and Water Conservation District staff, extension agents, NRCS practitioners, and nonprofit partners in implementation or outreach and education

• Allowable uses of funds include but are not limited to: a silvopasture system for pastured livestock; cover crop and nutrient reduction trials; hedgerows or riparian buffers that incorporate income-generating crops; innovative crop rotation to improve soil health, including adding a new crop into an established rotation; mulching or cut-and-carry systems; building soil health on an urban farm through the addition of compost; integrating perennial crops into annual cropping systems; integrating livestock into an annual cropping system; building soil health as a climate resilience strategy; and agroforestry

• Grant period: applicants select a one-year or two-year grant period at the time of application. The grant period starts at the time of agreement; the period of performance runs from initial award fund receipt to the due date of the final report — 365 or 730 days respectively. Awardees may choose to start work after the agreement is signed but are not required to until the first installment is received.

• Grant disbursement schedule (fixed, cannot be modified): the first 75% of the total awarded amount is disbursed approximately 90 days after receipt of a signed award agreement via the online grant portal; final reports are due 365 or 730 days after receipt of award funds depending on the pre-selected grant period; the remaining 25% is issued approximately 90 days after the close of the grant cycle, on condition that all deliverables are met and reporting is submitted

• Funding is contingent on the awardee completing a Grant Award Agreement form and submitting it, along with other requested information, within 7 days of being notified of the award

• AFT requires the awardee to provide its SSN/EIN/TIN for IRS reporting; the name on the application must match the name on that number

• Reporting: semi-annual check-ins by phone or email with Program staff plus a one-page final report; communications and outreach efforts also serve as project reporting; additional reporting may be requested for specific project types (e.g. on-farm research)

• Expenses incurred prior to receiving a fully executed grant award agreement are not reimbursable. AFT has no obligation to disburse amounts in excess of the approved grant; expenses exceeding the grant maximum are the awardee's responsibility. Any unspent grant funds may be dedicated toward further services for the applicant, pending written AFT approval.

• 2025 cycle context: AFT awarded $896,600 through the two Regenerate Virginia grant programs to 38 Virginia farmers and ranchers. Funded projects are driving outcomes such as increased soil cover and biodiversity, expanded market opportunities, and reduced input costs through practices including diversified cover crops, biochar applications, and rotational grazing.

To apply, farmers submit a completed Regenerate Virginia Healthy Soils Grant Application to AFT by the due date. Applications must be submitted electronically through the link on AFT's Mid-Atlantic grants webpage (https://farmland.org/mid-atlantic-grants), which goes live when the window opens on December 1. A downloadable application copy is posted for reference alongside the guidelines and FAQ, in English and Spanish. AFT hosts virtual Q&A Office Hours during the window (for the December 2025 cycle: Wed. Nov. 19 7–8 PM, Mon. Dec. 1 1–2 PM, and Mon. Dec. 15 7–8 PM). Awardees receive a link by email to complete the final report in the SurveyMonkey Apply portal three months before the close of their grant period.

Applications for the most recent cycle are closed. Questions or assistance completing an application: Amanda Cather, Mid-Atlantic Deputy Director, (202) 378-1244, acather@farmland.org. If desired, AFT can help identify the appropriate consultant for individual needs and help draft a budget — note this in the application if it would be beneficial. AFT notes it will not evaluate applications on grammar or writing style.

• Program page (Mid-Atlantic grants): https://farmland.org/mid-atlantic-grants

• 2026 Healthy Soils Guidelines: https://farmland.org/favicons/26-guidelines-healthysoils-final2.pdf

• FAQ: https://farmland.org/favicons/faq\_healthy-soils-grants.pdf

• Application (for reference): https://farmland.org/favicons/2026-hs-application-reference-copy.pdf

• Directrices (Spanish guidelines): https://farmland.org/favicons/26-guidelines-healthysoils-final\_spanish-(1).pdf

• Solicitud, solo para referencia (Spanish application): https://farmland.org/favicons/26applicationhealthysoilsgrants-final-spanish.pdf

• Virginia Soil Health Coalition: https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/

• Brighter Future Fund: https://farmland.org/brighterfuture

• Regenerate Virginia initiative and report: https://farmland.org/regenerate-virginia/