Blog

By Katie Feterl • Communications Director

Farmers, ranchers, and landowners operating in eligible counties are invited to apply to participate in the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture program through July 28, 2025!

This program offers selected applicants $100/acre or animal unit to implement common conservation practices:

• Cover Crops
• No-Till/Strip Till
• Reduced Till
• Conservation Crop Rotation
• Feed Management
• Nutrient Management

You can apply to implement a practice on a maximum of 160 acres or animal units. There are additional payments available for producers who qualify as Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, or who operate fewer than five acres.

Click here to watch a new video that shares program details and experiences from participating farmers.

The participating counties are East Otter Tail, Fillmore, Kandiyohi, Redwood, Renville, Root River (Houston), Stevens, and Wadena. Soil & Water Conservation District offices (SWCDs) in these counties are your local point people for this program. Their staff are working one-on-one with applicants to plan, apply, implement the practices, and complete grant reporting. Producers can apply directly via the Virginia Tech website, however they are strongly encouraged to contact their districts beforehand to discuss the program and ask for any needed assistance in completing the application.

To get started, connect with your local SWCD staff:

East Otter Tail: Mitchell Janson, mitchell.janson@wadena.mnswcd.org, (218) 346-9105

Fillmore: Riley Buley, riley.buley@fillmoreswcd.org, (507) 887-0240

Root River (Houston): Dave Walter, goosey10@hotmail.com, 507-724-5261 ext 3

Kandiyohi:  Margaret Johnson, margaret.johnson@kandiyohiswcd.org, 320-403-4350

Redwood:  Brian Pfarr, brian_p@redwoodcounty-mn.gov, (507) 637-2427

Renville:  Pamela Wizenburg, pamelaw@renvilleswcd.org, (320) 523-1559

Stevens: Austin Norby, Austin.norby@stevensswcd.org, (320) 589-4886

Wadena:  Alyson Levig, alyson.levig@wadena.mnswcd.org, (218) 632-4201

This funding is available through the Alliance to Advance Climate Smart Agriculture, a national USDA-funded pilot program led by Virginia Tech University to support the adoption of climate-smart practices.