Producer Portal: Enrollment Guide
Enroll in Growing GRASS: What You Need to Know
The Growing GRASS project has USDA funding to provide directly to eligible US beef and bison producers.
Producers who successfully enroll with the project can get payments for:
Project Participation and Sharing Information
If you are interested and eligible for Growing GRASS project participation, you will receive $3000 for completing a survey and getting enrolled in the program.
Your answers will help us understand a little about who you are and your operation, and teach us about both the obstacles producers face and the opportunities they see tied to regenerative grazing systems, markets, and fuller byproduct valuation.
Value-Added Market On-Farm Audits & Certifications
Regenerative Grazing Training and Education
Physical Data Collection
Coming soon: Marketing and Storytelling
Coming Soon: Grazing data sharing (that you paid to collect
Coming soon: LCA participation (invitation only)
Coming Soon: Drop credits for finishers
Curious to learn more about payment programs before you sign up? Click below!
Before you start the enrollment survey
Eligible beef and bison producers can receive payment for finishing this survey and agreeing to be part of the Growing GRASS Project.
Eligibility requirements include:
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Raise beef cattle and/or buffalo using prescribed grazing practices as defined by USDA NRCS Conservation Practice 528
Be enrolled with the USDA Farm Service Administration (FSA), including:
◼︎ Having an active USDA Farm number.
◼︎ Having the farm “fields” enrolled where you agree that you are implementing Practice 528 (prescribed grazing) of beef and/or bison.
◼︎ Having a current Subsidiary Print from USDA
Confirmation you are not enrolled in another USDA AMP project for beef or bison.
Confirmation you do not operate a concentrated animal feeding operation (“CAFO”) on the farm/ranch (as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency) on your registered USDA farm.
Agreement to share information with Growing GRASS for research purposes. Growing GRASS will only release producer data in aggregate and without identifiable producer information unless you have given explicit permission otherwise.
Information to have available when applying
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USDA Farm number you want to register.
The following information for all the USDA “fields” of the farm where you are implementing Practice 528 practices grazing beef and/or bison.
◼︎ Field Name
◼︎ USDA Farm #
◼︎ FSA Tract #
◼︎ FSA Field #
◼︎ Acres
Your farm’s current subsidiary print (see an example print here)
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Before You Enroll: Required Information for Growing GRASS
Eligibility, expectations, and how the program works
How is this project funded?
Growing GRASS is a USDA-funded “Advancing Markets for Producers” (AMP) project; all support for producers comes from this USDA grant. The American Sustainable Business Institute is the recipient of this grant and the entity administering payments for this program.
Can I enroll in the Growing GRASS program without enrolling with USDA?
Unfortunately, no. As this is a USDA-funded project, for producers to be eligible for payments, USDA enrollment and an USDA Farm number is required.
Can I be reimbursed for eligible expenses paid before enrollment?
The Growing GRASS project cannot pay for costs (such as audits, certifications or other eligible expenses) incurred before you have completed the enrollment process AND have been approved for additional payments.
What expenses are not eligible for payment through Growing GRASS?
Growing GRASS cannot pay for land acquisition, livestock purchases, infrastructure, equipment, or related expenses.
How much funding can I receive through the Growing GRASS Project?
To be sure we’re benefitting the most producers, the total dollars an individual producer requests from now until June 2027 will be capped at $24,000. We will publish new payment caps and funding opportunities in June 2027. Specific types of funding requests may be further limited based on market rates.
Will participating exclude me from other USDA programs?
Generally no, with the exception of enrollment in another USDA Advancing Markets for Producers grant program for the same farm/acres and associated conservation practices. This means you can still enroll in other federal programs that are paying for practice implementation.
Will the information I share with the Growing GRASS project be shared?
By partnering with Growing GRASS on this research project, know that:
We will protect and secure any data you choose to share with us.
Limited farm/ranch information will be shared with the USDA (which they confirm will not be shared in any identifiable way with any external parties).
Identifiable information you provide will be used only for project purposes, and will be accessible only by the internal Growing GRASS team.
Unless you give us express permission to share your personal information with interested supply chain partners, only fully anonymized and aggregated findings will be shared with supply chain partners.
Your data will never be sold (even in aggregated form), and your participation in this program will never be published, unless you specifically tell us you want it to be.
What information from my enrollment survey will be shared with USDA?
Only limited enrollment and operation-identifying information needed to verify participation in the Growing GRASS project will be shared with USDA.
This includes:
Your USDA Farm Number
Field enrollment information (Field Name, FSA Tract #, FSA Field #, Acres)
The type of livestock you graze (beef and/or bison)
Your name, county, and address
Your project enrollment date
Growing GRASS will not share your broader survey responses, operational details, or other personal information with USDA unless specifically authorized by you.
You can view our full data reporting and privacy policy here.
What is a Subsidiary Print?
A subsidiary print is an annual document created by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) summarizing a producer’s eligibility for federal agricultural and conservation programs. See an example print here.
In particular, it verifies Farm Records are established, and that the producer is in compliance with Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation requirements.
For a producer to enroll and get paid through Growing GRASS, they will need to submit a current Subsidiary Print. This document is available upon request from your local USDA NRCS office (where you enrolled your farm), or online through Farmers.gov (you will need to have an active USDA account). We recommend calling your local FSA office and asking them to email you this print.
What is the Growing GRASS mission?
The Growing GRASS project aims to get farmers, ranchers, and herders of regeneratively raised beef and bison more overall value out of their livestock. We’ll do this by establishing reliable, resilient, high-value supply chains for meat processing byproducts like hides and organs, providing more climate-friendly materials for leather, ingredient, and pet food markets — all of which helps more of the whole animal go to use instead of to waste.
For anyone raising cattle and bison, this project will make it easier to enter certified regenerative markets, creating a sustainable income stream.
What is the GRASS Standard?
At the center of our project is the Generalized Regenerative Agriculture Sourcing Specification tool, or GRASS. GRASS is a verification and traceability system created to allow farmers, herders, and ranchers to use existing and diverse inspections (such as the American Grassfed Association, Audubon, and Regenerative Organic Certified) to minimize costs and be eligible for multiple value-added markets.
Using GRASS, our project team seeks to enable more livestock producers and processors to collect, process, and sell hides and byproducts with credible “regenerative” claims, increasing profits and market pathways.
Why regenerative?
Farmers, herders, and ranchers are increasingly adopting regenerative livestock grazing systems in order to attain a wide array of benefits for their operations, including:
Improved soil health.
Improved water infiltration and holding capacity.
Increased grass and forage production.
Soil carbon sequestration.
Reduced off-farm inputs.
And when meat and other products from animals raised under these systems are verified, consumers have shown they are willing to pay more, which can contribute to even greater profitability for the producer.
Enroll in Growing GRASS
I’ve read this page, and I am ready to enroll!
Contact Us
First, please make sure you read the full FAQ section on this page.
Read it all and still need help? Email info@ggrass.org to get connected with a member of our team. It may take us up to 14 business days to respond.
Interested in Growing GRASS but don’t plan on meeting the project enrollment requirements? Enter your information below to receive general project updates.