About the Healthy Soils Program
Since 2018, the Healthy Soils Program has been supporting farmers and ranchers to help them incorporate new sustainable agricultural practices into their systems. All of these practices build organic carbon belowground, and some aboveground, while reducing land-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Improving soil health, and often providing physical soil protection and habitat, these projects increase the resilience of California’s farms and surrounding ecosystems to climate challenges.
To further its mission, the Program has also supported scientists and local organizations with key outreach and research projects.
Eligible Practices:
Some of our practices are annual, supported for three years, while others are one-time, long-term plantings or biomass applications.
27 Practices are available, including:
- Organic Soil Amendments: Compost, Mulch, Whole Orchard Recycling
- Annual Plantings: Cover Crops, Crop Rotations
- Permanent Plantings: Hedgerows, Windbreaks, Range Plantings
- Decreased Tillage: No-Till, Reduced Tillage
Benefits
Farmers and ranchers who implement soil health practices often improve their:
- Crop Nutrition
- Soil Structure
- Water Infiltration and Storage
- Reduced Soil Erosion
- Biodiversity
- Pollinator Habitat
- Pest Control
- Carbon Sequestration
- Greenhouse Gases
- Human and Animal Nutrition
Grant Types
Incentive Grants
Most of the Program’s funds have gone through fixed-rate, per-acre Incentives awarded directly by the CDFA. Applicants and awardees have been able to seek help from regional Technical Assistance Provider organizations and UCANR Community Education Specialists.
Block Grants
Since 2023, the Program has begun to work through regional or specialized organizations, which award and manage grants to farmers, using the Incentive Grants system. These organizations, with their listed partners, also provide local technical assistance to farmers.
Demonstration Grants
The Program has disbursed these funds through two types of projects; outreach projects, which showcase healthy soils practices for producers, while measuring certain benefits; and research projects, which target healthy soils research gaps and measure practice effects more comprehensively, including GHG emissions.
Impact
Updates, Grants Status, and Funding
The Program currently has no open solicitations.
Any upcoming solicitation will be announced several months in advance on this webpage.
The next solicitations depend on authorization of funding from Proposition 4, the “Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024,” approved by California voters in November 2024.
The most recent solicitations were open during:
- Block Grant Pilot: April 19, 2023 – June 19, 2023
- Demonstration Grants: June 29, 2023 – August 28, 2023
- Incentive Grants: January 22, 2024 – February 9, 2024
Success Stories
A California walnut grower successfully improved soil health and farm resilience through the Healthy Soils Program (HSP). By implementing composting, mulching with almond shells, and continuing cover cropping, the grower tackled challenges like persistent nematode infestations and water conservation. These practices helped reduce pest populations, enhance nutrient cycling, conserve water, and build organic matter in the soil, all while supporting the transition to organic farming. The results included improved pest resistance, increased soil moisture retention, and a healthier ecosystem. Learn more about boosting soil health.