We’re a collective of agriculture organizations and producers from across Sonoma and Marin counties working together to support our farmers and our planet.
Marketing is a core pillar of this program, aimed at increasing consumer awareness and demand for climate-smart products. Our marketing experts are profiling producers committed to sustainability. Educational content will raise consumer awareness about the importance of local agriculture in mitigating climate change. At the same time, we’re strengthening local supply chains and buyer networks across the greater Bay Area. Our goal is to enhance consumer appreciation for climate-smart practices, which may increase demand and product price premiums. Our marketing team wants to make it easier for you to focus on growing and creating stellar products.
About the Initiative
This USDA-backed grant program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing climate-smart agricultural practices.
We provide funding and technical assistance, develop and execute carbon farm plans, and increase consumer awareness of climate-smart products.
Simply put, we are here to help. The program is open to all producers - whether you’ve been planting cover crops and monitoring soil health for years or you are just getting started. Funding will be awarded to implement USDA-approved climate-smart practices. Our technical teams will assist in execution to help ensure both short and long-term success. We also have funds specifically set aside for beginning farmers, veterans, and other historically underserved producers.
Our monitoring and verification team will be working with producers to estimate climate benefits and utilize established modeling tools to quantify emissions and sequestration impacts. Reporting this data back to USDA demonstrates the impact of our work and paves the way for funding future projects.
Grant Goals
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Implementation
Assist local producers in developing carbon farm plans and implementing climate-smart practices.
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Marketing
Engage consumers and build buyer networks to increase demand for climate-smart agriculture products.
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Verification
Quantify benefits of climate-smart practices and report out on overall benefits.
The Details
Formally known as the Sonoma-Marin Ag and County Climate Coalition (SMACCC), this pilot initiative is funded through a $10 million grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Over the course of five years, technical and financial assistance will be provided to 73 producers, covering approximately 13,686 acres of agricultural land in Sonoma and Marin counties. The climate benefits of this project are estimated to be 253,613 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over 20 years, equivalent to 33,074 homes' energy use for one year.
The project is anchored in long-standing partnerships between agencies and organizations that support conservation and agricultural sustainability. We are designing a model for climate-smart agriculture that can be scalable to any region in the state and beyond.
Who Can Apply?
Farms must be located within Sonoma or Marin counties.
Project applicants can be, but are not limited to, dairy operators, ranchers, fruit and vegetable farmers, and winegrape growers.
Must be interested in implementing practices labeled as “climate-smart” by USDA (i.e. sequester carbon or avoid emissions) and meet NRCS practice specifications and standards.
Be registered, or willing to be registered, with the USDA Farm Service Agency. (We’ll help you if you’re not already registered!)
Agree to work with our marketing team to highlight climate-smart products.
Work with our team to share production and marketing data so we’re able to report our impact back to the USDA.
We encourage producers who are limited in resources, new to the field, socially disadvantaged, and/or veteran farmers or ranchers to apply.
Climate-Smart Practices
Grant Partners
Affiliate Organizations
