For Farmers and Ranchers Enrolled in Growing GRASS
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Curious what Growing GRASS funding looks like on the ground?
Want to learn more about what the Growing GRASS project can pay for?
Growing GRASS Payment Programs
The Growing GRASS project has about $24M in federal funding slated to be paid directly to 1000 or more producers by June 2028.
To be sure we’re benefitting the most producers, there is a total payment cap of $24,000. We will publish new funding opportunities and caps in June 2027. Specific types of funding requests may be further limited based on market rates.
Funding requests are reviewed on a rolling basis, you can submit as many requests as you’d like within the payment cap limits. Note that funding is not guaranteed until you receive approval.
Sign in and request funds for the below payment programs using the same email address you used for your enrollment survey.
Value-Added Market On-Farm Audits & Certifications
The Growing GRASS project can provide funding for on-farm audits, inspections and certifications that open up markets and help you manage beef and bison grazing on your operation.
Regenerative Grazing Training & Peer Connection
Growing GRASS has funding available for training, educational events, and meetings where you can learn and share alongside others doing this work.
Physical Data Collection
Growing GRASS can cover the cost of soil sampling, nutrient density testing, and other on-farm research so you can see the physical impacts of your hard work and grazing management practices.
Coming soon: Grazing Data Sharing
Growing GRASS will pay for access to certain types of data that you have collected or are collecting during the project. This can include past soil or other data testing results, as well as data from grazing cattle (via virtual collars).
Check back soon for more details!
Coming soon: Marketing and Storytelling
Growing GRASS can support producers interested in telling their stories on their own terms, and marketing their regenerative products, with the goal of advancing the value of regenerative ingredients in the market.
Check back soon for more details!
Coming soon: LCA Participation, invitation only
Includes exceptions to payment limits for data sharing and participation.
Check back soon for more details!
Coming soon: Drop Credits
Check back soon for more details!
Producer Stories
Here are a few examples of how a rancher or farmer could engage with the GGRASS Project to strengthen their regenerative grazing program.
What Does This Look Like for a Producer?
Farmer Ted has a small farm in Minnesota where he is raising about 45 head of regenerative cattle for beef. They are prescribed grazed according to CPS 528 and finished on-site. The cattle are processed and sold locally at farmers markets and directly to consumers.
Ted enrolled with the Growing GRASS Project and after completing the survey and signing his contract, his farm received the $3000 enrollment incentive.
Upon learning about the Education and Training opportunity, he applied for a soil health and grazing workshop hosted by a local soil health organization.. The program cost, as well as the mileage he drove to and from the event, lodging for the night, and his meals for the trip were reimbursed by Growing GRASS.
Based on what he learned from the workshop, Ted decided he wanted to test his soil to provide a baseline for future soil health improvements. After scheduling with a local soil testing lab he found via contacts made through the soil health organization, he was able to be reimbursed for the full cost of the test.
Ted continued testing his soil the following year with another payment via GGRASS, and was able to see measurable improvements on pasture including increased forage density and quality.
Enrollment Payment: $3000
Workshop Fee: $500
Travel Reimbursement: $289
Soil Testing: $6,500
Soil Testing: $1,700
Total payments received: $11,989
Rancher Jane has a large cow/calf beef operation in Central Montana, selling about 300 head to a regional aggregator each year. Her ranch is certified with the American Grassfed Association (AGA) as well as with Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Initiative.
After enrolling with GGRASS and receiving her enrollment payment, she was able to pay for a year of AGA audits with funding via GGRASS.
The Data Collection program under GGRASS also was able to reimburse Jane for soil and water infiltration testing to help her better understand current soil health. She also got reimbursement for pasture and forage analysis to help her see the impact of her regenerative grazing on the forage quality and production. Jane was also interested in learning more about how her grazing impacted birds and other wildlife, so got reimbursed to be part of a biodiversity assessment. This enabled her to participate in a bird monitoring pilot program where audio recordings of birdlife on the ranch were analyzed. This data helped develop a bird biodiversity study helping to show the value of ranches like Jane’s for birds and other animals.
Enrollment payment: $3000
2026 AGA Audit fee: $250
Soil Sampling: $14,500
Pasture/Forage Analysis: $4,800
Biodiversity Auditory Monitoring and Analysis: $1200
Total payments received: $23,750
Rancher Greg has a medium-sized cow/calf operation in western North Carolina. When a local farmer advocacy group introduced him to Growing GRASS he registered with the FSA to qualify, then self-certified that his grazing practices qualified as prescribed grazing even though he had only just started the practice recently. His land is rented from another rancher, but Greg has permission to register the fields independently and manage the property as he sees fit.
He enrolled with the program, received his $3000 payment, then got busy again managing his ranch.
After a few months, Greg was ready to engage more with his regenerative grazing practices and decided to register for a regional regenerative training program. GGRASS covered the cost of his training and travel, and he began employing more focused management practices. As he engaged with other ranchers he had met in his training program, Greg decided to attend a regional grazing conference to learn from others and offer up the lessons he had learned implementing the practice on his own ranch. The travel costs and registration fees for the conference were covered by GGRASS.
Enrollment payment: $3000
Conference Registration Fee: $250
Travel and Lodging for conference: $316.78
Total payments received: $3,566.78
Farmer Andrea is a beginning farmer in South Dakota who is grazing about 25 buffalo and selling her meat directly to consumers in her area. She’s interested in increasing her experience and knowledge around prescribed grazing practices to grow her herd. She knows she also needs some support with marketing, communications, and sales, to communicate her shift to regenerative production to new customers.
After enrolling with GGRASS and receiving her initial enrollment payment, she participated in a holistic management course where her tuition and related costs were covered by GGRASS reimbursement.
Andrea’s small bison herd is eligible for the GGRASS drop credit since she’s calving and finishing on-site. When she brings in 12 head for slaughter, she’s credited $150 for each animal’s hide and other potentially valuable byproducts which may be aggregated by the slaughterhouse for pet food, bison leather, or bone broth products.
Andrea heard nutrient density is a big selling point for local grass-fed meat, so she worked with a lab to have her meat analyzed for key nutritional components like fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. To bootstrap her direct-to-consumer marketing, Andrea paid a contractor to develop a better website and newsletter for her farm.
Both the testing and marketing development services were eligible to be reimbursed by Growing GRASS so she did not have to invest any capital directly. Now she’s reaching new customers with a special interest in nutrient dense bison meat and has enough steady demand to add bison to her herd.
Enrollment payment: $3000
Holistic Management course: $800
Training travel and lodging cost: $214
Drop credit $150 x 12 head of bison = $1,800
Nutrient Density Testing: $1,400
Regenerative Marketing cost: $1,200
Total payments received: $8,414