SB 871

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; 2) plant vegetation such as hedgerows, windrows, or riparian buffers; 3) implement approaches to increase the carbon stored in the soil; 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 land participating in a land retirement program or on commercial forest land or for an aquaculture-based project. In addition, a grant 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. DATCP 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 for 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 provides that an offer of a grant under the new grant program qualifies as a bona fide offer of cost-sharing. Under the current soil and water resource management program, unless a farmer receives a bona fide offer of cost-sharing from DATCP or the Department of Natural Resources, the farmer is not required to follow the conservation practices set by DATCP and DNR if doing so would require the farmer to discontinue or modify cropping practices on existing cropland or to discontinue or modify an existing livestock facility or operation.

Finally, the bill requires DATCP to report to the legislature biennially on the implementation and impact of the grant program.