Climate-Smart Commodities Market Program

Conservation Innovation Fund's Climate-Smart Commodities Market Program pays farmers up front for five years of expected environmental outcomes from newly adopted climate-smart practices, and provides technical support for regenerative agriculture. It works within dairy, beef and grain supply chains, with a focus on greenhouse gas reductions that buyers can purchase. Partners include the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley, Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, Lancaster Clean Water Partners, Maola Local Dairies and Stroud Water Research Center.

• Farmers in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia, plus Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (MDVA) members in Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey and New York.

• An FSA farm number, tract and field maps for all participating acres.

• Practices must be new to the enrolled acres.

• Fields not deforested or converted from grassland to cropland in the last 10 years, and not enrolled in another carbon market.

• Not already receiving federal funds for any part of the same practice on the same land.

• Proof of land ownership or a lease agreement.

• Three years of historical crop and field management data, plus field data for each of the five program years.

• Funds come as a Payment Package covering the value of the environmental benefits from your practices over 5 years, paid up front to help cover implementation costs.

• If you install the practice yourself, the Payment Package goes to you. If a Program Contractor does the work, the package pays the contractor; you cover any costs above the package, and any remainder is paid to you.

• Five-year contract, with optional extensions in 5-year intervals for up to 15 more years, with annual credit payments.

• The program may sell the environmental benefits from the practices to recoup its investment.

• In some cases this funding can be stacked with other cost-share programs.

There is no published deadline. Contact Conservation Innovation Fund at climatesmart@conservationinnovationfund.org to enroll or ask questions. A Partnership Specialist can help work out how this funding fits with other cost-share programs.