On November 1, 2023, President Biden and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the award of a $20 Million Grant to the Red River Basin Commission (RRBC) for the North Dakota and Minnesota Supply Chain Soil Health Partnership project.
The goals of the project are to complement supply chain company investments in soil health, nutrient stewardship, and water conservation practices on over 450,000 acres. The project spans all of North Dakota (ND) and five Minnesota (MN) counties in the southern end of the Red River Valley, covering more than 10 crops.
The Soil Health Partnership project will leverage two existing initiatives—the Trusted Advisor Partnership in North Dakota and a soil health program led by the Wilkin County Soil and Water Conservation District in West Central Minnesota, both generously funded by corporate partners.
The Supply Chain Soil Health Partnership aims to reach producers who may not yet engage in soil health-building conservation, helping them increase the resiliency of their operations through improved soil retention, water infiltration, drought resilience, and 4R stewardship. The project will monitor and measure environmental outcomes to support the carbon mitigation and water quality goals of partners.
The grant is under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The RRBC Executive Director, Ted Preister, stated, “The RCPP program is an innovative approach to addressing the many challenges faced by residents of the basin. We are thrilled to be recognized as an innovative leader in the field and look forward to the progress we can make with this great group of partners.”
The RRBC is partnering with the Sustainable Food Lab (SFL), a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the supply chain together to invest directly in farming systems. The SFL, with funding from companies and the Walmart Foundation, is implementing the Trusted Advisor Partnership to scale the adoption of soil health practices. PepsiCo, General Mills, the Hershey Company, King Arthur Baking, Cargill, and the McKnight Foundation have pledged additional funding to the federal grant, bringing the total budget to more than $45 million.
This funding greenlights partners to begin preparations for enrolling producers and training additional staff ahead of an anticipated early 2024 launch. The Red River Basin Commission Chair, Brian Holmer, stated, “The project provides an opportunity to address resource concerns that the RRBC has been advocating for years. The partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders allow the commission to achieve far more than any individual organization can do in isolation.”
All grants under the RCPP have a window of six months for negotiation of terms between the NRCS and the awardees, adding additional details to the plan.
