Sheep Industry News June 2023

has traditionally worked with companies looking for fine wool, it’s hoping to develop additional markets for coarse wool, as well. Producers can visit FiberPartnership.NCAT.org and fill out a form expressing interest in the program if they’d like to be consid ered for inclusion. “The program creates a verification and designation for produc ers as Climate Beneficial Verified, and they may then use that designation in marketing their wool or cotton,” Conover said. “We’ll be connecting them to expanded marketing opportunities through brand connections that we’re strengthening. We’re work ing to build the whole Climate Beneficial fiber supply chain, from the producers themselves all the way to the brands.” THE PROCESS The grant project will leverage an existing framework devel oped by the Carbon Cycle Institute to walk producers through the carbon farm planning process. Growers will receive technical assistance in developing a carbon farm plan. This spring, NCAT announced the hiring process for three new carbon farm planners to work with the program in the Northern Great Plains. “Carbon farm planning is a comprehensive process to work with producers to understand their goals and to assess particular landscapes and identify all potential opportunities for carbon capture on those landscapes,” Conover said. In addition, producers in the program will use COMET-Plan ner – developed by Colorado State University, COMET Team – to quantify the greenhouse benefits resulting from implementation of climate beneficial practices on their operations. Based on its previous work in California, Fibershed saw USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities grant program as the perfect opportunity to expand an already successful program. “Among our several goals for atmospheric carbon drawdown

and improvement of soil health, a high priority for our ranch has been compost application onto sheep pastures,” wrote Lynn and Jim Moody of Blue Oak Canyon Ranch near San Miguel, Calif. “We are very grateful to Fibershed and honored to have been awarded a Carbon Farm Seed Fund Grant to purchase compost for nearly 10 acres. Like many small ranches, we operate on something of an ‘economic edge’ and the financial aid granted by Fibershed truly has been a boon to our ranch operations.” Conover said many producers share the Moody’s concerns about the financial burden of new projects around the farm or ranch. “Funding is always the main issue when you’re asking produc ers to take on some of these projects. Producers can have all of the interest and best intentions in the world when it comes to thinking about their practices differently, but it often comes down to can they afford to do it? In California, we have the California Depart ment of Food and Agriculture Healthy Soils Program, as well as other state and federal grants such as the NRCS EQIP program. We work closely with local resource conservation districts and NRCS conservation planners to connect producers to funding opportunities where they exist. We also have our own grant fund – the Carbon Farm Seed Fund Program – that we’re able to offer to support different practices. It’s on a much smaller scale, of course, than the state and federal funding options. But it can complement those other sources.” Ultimately, Fibershed wants to support farmers and ranchers in their role of providing climate beneficial fiber to the consumer. “We’ve seen producer livelihoods threatened by economic conditions and by climate change,” Conover said. “Building a more robust supply chain and rooting those practices in work that is going to accelerate carbon drawdown is the real essence of this project.”

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