2023 New Mexico Department of Agriculture Healthy Soil Grant Program

The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is seeking applications for its Healthy Soil Grant Program to promote and support farming and ranching systems and other forms of land management that increase soil organic matter, aggregate stability, microbiology and water retention to improve the health, yield and profitability of the soils of the state.

Donor Name: New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA)

State: New Mexico

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline:

• Eligible Entities: 05/17/2023
• Individual Applicants: 04/21/2023

Grant Duration: 10 months

Details:

Healthy Soil Grant to improve soil health are the centerpiece of NMDA’s Healthy Soil Program. Every year, NMDA awards grants to implement on-the-ground projects that implement one or more of the five soil health principles, stated as follows in the legislative Act that created the program:

• Keeping soil covered
• Minimizing soil disturbance on cropland and minimizing external inputs
• Maximizing biodiversity
• Maintaining a living root
• Integrating animals into land management, including grazing animals, birds, beneficial insects or keystone species, such as earthworms.

Grant Period

This cycle of grants will fund on-the-ground projects that occur between August 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Entities
  • Eligible Entities, defined in the Healthy Soil Act as “local governmental entities with proven land management capacity to support healthy soil”, including:
    • Pueblos, tribes, and nations
    • Acequias
    • Land grants
    • Soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs)
    • NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service
    • Other local governmental entities with proven land management to support healthy soil
• Individual Applicants
  • Individual Applicants are individuals, businesses, and nonprofits directly engaged in farming, ranching, and/or other forms of land management.

For more information, visit NMDA.