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CDFA Climate Smart Agriculture Programs

The University of California Cooperative Extension is pleased to partner with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to provide technical assistance in applying for the Climate Smart Agriculture Incentives Programs.

Grant opportunities available through CDFA's Climate Smart Agriculture Program include:

CDFA's State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) encourages farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems that decrease their water consumption as well as their greenhouse gas emissions. CDFA's SWEEP will fund grants up to $200,000. 

CDFA's Healthy Soils Program (HSP) awards up to $200,000 per project for implementing conservation agriculture techniques that decrease erosion and greenhouse gas emissions, like cover cropping, compost, crop rotation, and mulching.

CDFA's Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) awards funds up to $750,000 to livestock producers who decrease their methane emissions by changing the way they manage manure. 

Find a Technical Assistance Provider in your local area.

Climate Bond Funding for Climate Smart Agriculture

What is Proposition 4 (the Climate Bond) and how does it relate to CDFA?

Proposition 4 was passed by California voters in November of 2024. CDFA's Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS) will utilize funding authorized under Proposition 4 to administer HSP and SWEEP block grants:

  • Healthy Soils Program (HSP): $50 million for grants that promote practices on farms and ranches that improve soil health and sequester carbon. 
  • State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP): $34 million for grants that promote on-farm water use efficiency and improve resilience to climate change.

How can the UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Team assist your organization?

OARS has partnered with UC ANR to provide technical assistance to block grant applicants and recipients through the CDFA–UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Program. Community Education Specialists (CESs), distributed around California, will support projects that provide direct and meaningful benefits to disadvantaged communities (DACs) and vulnerable populations. CESs will be available for consultation and project development support to block grant applicants.

The UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Team is glad to assist block grant applicants with questions and can be reached at climatesmartag@ucdavis.edu.

The team will also host weekly office hours during the Concept and Full Proposal application periods. 

Weekly Office Hours with the UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Team