Pause in federal funding impacts two local agriculture programs
The climate smart program information is no longer available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website.
by Sara Swanson
The Washtenaw County Conservation District (WCCD) announced last week that they are being directly impacted by the federal funding freezes. In the most recent Conservation Update they state, “Six of our staff members (almost half our workforce) are fully funded through federal grants. Due to recent actions from the new administration, there has been a lot of uncertainty whether we will receive payment for work already performed or additional funds moving forward.”
They go on to explain that they have asked their staff to shift responsibilities (and hence funding source), reduce hours, take paid leave, and take unpaid leave, and state, “We hope these measures are temporary, but we will keep our residents updated as we learn more.”
The two programs most impacted by the freezes are the Michigan Climate Smart Farms Project and the Transition to Organic Partnership Program.
The Michigan Climate Smart Farm Project (MCSFP) is a pilot project coordinated by WCCD with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant program with the goal to develop a climate smart farm verification program for the whole state, based on the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP).
If you have driven down secondary roads anywhere in the Manchester area, you have passed farms with MAEAP “Environmentally Verified” signs out front. MAEAP is a more-than-20-year-old program that works with and identifies farms that prevent agricultural runoff into and pollution of public waters.
MCSFP began in 2023 and is planned through 2028. It it just now completing its development phase scheduled to run through March 2025 and is about to move into the 3-year pilot phase where the developed program will be implemented on small farms in Washtenaw, Monroe, Wayne, and Lenawee Counties. Participating farms will be eligible for cost-share payments for climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices implemented with the goal of becoming verified. Verified farms will be able to utilize the newly developed Climate Smart Farm branding package and logo in order to market their commodities as Climate Smart Farm Verified.
The MCSFP website explains, “A final report on the CSFV system and findings will be presented to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development with the goal of becoming part of the MAEAP program or a stand-alone program.”
The other program most impacted, the Transition to Organic Partnership Program, is also funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and is also five-year project. For this project, WCCD is working with Michigan State University Extension, Michigan State University Organic Farmer Training Program, and Grand Traverse Conservation District.
Michigan State University Extension explained in an October 2023 article that the key component of the new Transition to Organic Partnership Program is mentorship for farmers transitioning to organic production. Mentor farmers (current or former certified organic farmers) will be paid $3,000 and mentees will receive a $500 stipend upon completing the mentorship.
It went on to explain, “Mentors and mentees meet for 40 hours each year, including visiting each other’s farms at least once per year, monthly meetings, attending an educational event together, and answering questions as needed. Mentors and mentees also commit to onboarding, trainings, evaluation, quarterly check-ins with the coordinator, and tracking meeting hours. Mentees commit to pursuing organic certification and creating an organic system plan.”
While it is currently unclear what the future of these two programs will be, WCCD is continuing to manage them for now. They do caution, “Please note that staff may be slower in responding to inquiries regarding these programs.”
WCCD asks that “in the meantime, if you have enjoyed or benefited from WCCD events or services, and are in the position to assist financially, please consider making a donation.” You can donate on their website, https://store.washtenawcd.org/ (click on “Donate”).
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