Grant Funding for Farmers

Farming is an expensive business, AvidWater is here to help ease that burden. There are several grant programs available to farmers in California, and nationwide, that offer funding to improve  water and energy use efficiency. AvidWater offers products and services that are funded by these programs, and also offers FREE grant writing assistance to help secure funding.

There are two federal funding programs that are currently accepting applications for on-farm improvements through USDA:

The USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has an application window that is open now and will close on March 31, 2025. This program makes funding available to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Funds awarded through the REAP grant are used for renewable energy systems like anaerobic digesters or solar, or they can be used to buy, build, and install energy efficiency improvements like upgrading pumps from diesel to electric or replacing energy-inefficient pumps and equipment. Both grants (for up to 50% of total eligible project cost) and loans (up to 75% of total eligible project cost) are available.

The USDA NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is an ongoing program with applications accepted at any time and awarded on a rolling basis. The program makes funding available to farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices. Practices funded by EQIP include irrigation water management, drainage water management, and nutrient management, among many others, usually with a payment limitation of $200,000.

USDA has also announced a new upcoming funding opportunity for American farmers. The Marketing Assistance Program for Specialty Crops will expand markets by helping specialty who typically have higher marketing costs related to the tenderness and perishability of fruits, vegetables, floriculture, nursery crops and herbs; specialized handling and transport equipment with temperature and humidity control; packaging; moving perishables to market quickly; and higher labor costs. USDA anticipates applications will open in December 2024.

California Department of Food and Ag (CDFA) has previously offered several statewide programs to provide financial assistance to growers as well, including the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), Healthy Soils Program (HSP), Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP), and Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP). Currently all of these programs are closed due to budget constraints. SWEEP and HSP are aimed at farmers who want to improve energy and water use efficiency and improve their overall soil health. The HSP webpage notes that they did not receive funding for the 2024-25 fiscal year. SWEEP and HSP are typically funded through the same bill, so they are likely seeking a new source of funding. DDRDP and AMMP aim to assist dairy and livestock farmers with manure management. DDRDP is specifically for digesters, while AMMP funds non-digester manure management practices. They both had a solicitation this year that closed 10/18 after receiving requests totaling $81.1mil. The award announcement will happen March of 2025 so it is unlikely we would see a new solicitation before fall of 2025 if at all. We highly recommend visiting the website for any of these programs that you may be interested in and signing up for their email list to stay current on their status.

Securing funding through any of these programs and implementing the project according to their guidelines can be a daunting task, but AvidWater can help from start to finish. From choosing practices that qualify for funding, to filling out and submitting the application, to implementing the project, we are here to assist you and your operation. AvidWater can provide bids and complete the work on water- and energy-saving projects like pump upgrades and replacements, upgrading irrigation systems, and installing in-field technology and automation. Our team has decades of experience in implementation of many SWEEP, EQIP, and REAP projects. For questions about these or other funding opportunities or assistance applying, please contact your AvidWater salesperson today.

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