Farm grant bill aims at sustainability innovations

OLYMPIA — Farmers could be awarded grants for adopting and testing new sustainable farming techniques and practices after the state legislature passed Senate Bill 5947.

The bill, which awaits Gov. Jay Inslee’s approval, would prompt the Department of Agriculture to establish a sustainable farms and fields grant program to incentivize and reimburse farmers for investing in new equipment and practices that conserve water, improve soil conditions and help absorb atmospheric carbon.

Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the bill puts the state conservation commission in charge of the competitive grants and names Washington State University as a cooperative partner in the program.

Warnick said WSU already has a lot of involvement with farmers and ranchers through its agricultural research and has been a “go-to” site for soil testing in the state.

“The average farmer doesn’t have those resources,” Warnick explained.

Greg Rock, a policy expert with the environmental lobbying group Carbon Washington, had advocated for the bill. He said the grant program is “designed to foster innovation among farmers, by offering rewards for certain outcomes.”

According to Rock, water conservation, microbial soil health, crop carbon absorption and soil carbon absorption will all be priorities considered by the conservation commission when choosing who will be awarded the competitive grants.

Warnick said the conservation commission would still have to develop rules and specific priorities for the grant awarding process, but both small and large farming operations will be eligible.

According to Rock, the commission would focus on achieving the highest reduction of atmospheric carbon per grant dollar spent.

Rock explained that there is a wide variety of enhancements that can earn grants, including efficient irrigation systems, pesticide reductions, using crops engineered to sequester more atmospheric carbon and soil management techniques to improve absorption of atmospheric carbon.

“It is an opportunity to rebalance some focus on innovation,” Rock said.

According to him, the grants could work in multiple ways. Grant money could be given up front for farmers to invest in new techniques or equipment that improve future crop yields with large up front costs, or farmers could be paid based on a measurable outcome, like the amount of carbon sequestered in their soil.

Rock said farmers are naturally stewards of their land, and these conditions and outcomes are already something they desire to achieve because they indicate good soil health, conserve resources and increase crop yields.

Rock said before the passage of the bill, more than 100 farmers and ranchers signed a letter of support for the legislation. He said this is because it directly subsidizes investments in new equipment and crop management techniques that will improve the quality of their soil and will help increase future crop yields.

“Farmers have already been doing these things,’ Warnick said. “Farmers have always invested in sustainable farming techniques.”