SB 664

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer

Protection to create a sustainable agriculture grant program, under which DATCP

may award grants to farmers to 1) implement on-site fossil fuel input efficiency

measures, such as reducing the use of fossil fuel-based fertilizers or pesticides or

adopting alternative fuel technologies like solar or wind power; 2) plant hedgerows,

windrows, riparian buffers, or woody plantings like fruit trees; 3) increase the carbon

stored in the soil, such as by using no- or low-till practices or changing grazing

practices; or 4) develop a conservation management plan for carbon reduction or

sequestration. Under the bill, a grant may not be awarded for a project that occurs

on lands participating in a land retirement program or on commercial forest lands,

or for aquaculture-based projects. A grant also may not be awarded to a farmer who

is eligible for the combined state-federal conservation reserve enhancement

program unless the farmer has already applied for that program, or to a farmer who

is eligible for any other state, federal, or local grant for the same conservation actions

unless the farmer has already applied for that grant.

The bill requires DATCP, in prioritizing grant recipients, to seek to maximize

the total reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalents per grant dollar

awarded by leveraging other nonstate public or private funding. In addition, DATCP

must prioritize projects that both improve air or water quality and provide

agronomic benefits. The department must also attempt to provide grants to farmers

in different parts of the state and for different types of projects, and must ensure that

small- and medium-sized farms are included in the grant program. Under the bill,

DATCP may use up to 20 percent of the amount appropriated for the grant program

to create educational programs about the grants, to provide technical assistance, to

develop models to assist in prioritizing grant awards, and to administer the grant

program.

The bill allows a grant recipient to use grant funds to make down payments on

equipment or other types of loans related to the purpose of the grant. The bill also

allows grants awarded for carbon storage projects that have an uncertain storage life

to include ongoing annual payments for the previous year's storage or upfront

cumulative payments based on the expected storage in future years.

The bill also allows DATCP to require a grant recipient to allow access to the

property on which the grant project will take place, and requires DATCP to maintain

a public list of all grant recipients, the amount of money spent or borrowed under the

program, and the impact on total atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalents emissions

under the program.

In addition, the bill requires DATCP, in consultation with the UW Extension,

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Natural Resources, and

county land and water conservation departments to promulgate rules to administer

the grant program. The bill also requires DATCP to report to the legislature