(JAMESTOWN, N.D.) – North Dakota Farmers Union announced the launch of its second year leading the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture in North Dakota. The Alliance is a pilot program that provides $100 per acre or animal unit to producers who adopt high-value conservation practices. The program specifically incentivizes adoption or maintenance of no till, minimum till, prescribed grazing, cover crops, and other practices that curb greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2024, the program committed nearly $8 million in payments to over 300 producers. In 2025, the project will again be offered in partnership with seven soil conservation districts in North Dakota: Cass, Foster, McKenzie, Mercer, Rolette, Stark/Billings and Ward. The program will award roughly $6 million in producer payments to selected producers from those counties.
“Farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of our natural resources. This pilot project rewards them for taking their stewardship to the next level,” said NDFU President Mark Watne. “We learned a lot of lessons from our first enrollment cycle and are eager to provide an improved, more producer-friendly experience for farmers and ranchers.”
Producers are limited to enrolling a maximum of 320 acres or animal units per producer for a maximum payout of $32,000 annually. Producers who enrolled in 2024 are eligible to enroll again in 2025, but they can’t enroll the same acres for the same practice.
Nationally, the program is led by Virginia Tech. The North Dakota Conservation District Employees Association and soil conservation districts are providing technical assistance for growers, while the North Dakota Grain Growers Association is assisting North Dakota Farmers Union with producer outreach.
The three-year project is funded through a USDA grant that will pay out a total of $57 million in 2024 and 2025 to roughly 4,000 producers in four states – Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Virginia. The Alliance is part of USDA’s $3.1 billion investment in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which supports 141 projects and seeks to provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodities and expand those markets for American producers.
To enroll or learn more about the program, visit allianceforcsa.org or contact your local soil conservation district. Farms and ranches must be located in one of the eight eligible counties to apply. The 30-day enrollment period opens Jan. 6.
