Eligibility, practices, enrollment, FAQ,
& Contacts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched its Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program in 2023 to increase adoption of climate smart practices on farms across the country and to work to develop markets that could lead to premiums for commodities grown using these practices.

Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance secured Climate Smart funding because many of the same practices that USDA supports for carbon capture also build soil health and reduce runoff resulting in improved water quality.

Agriculture is a vital part of Northeast Wisconsin’s landscape. To ensure Northeast Wisconsin farmers remain competitive in a changing market, this program is offering technical assistance and cost share to help farmers work toward adoption of climate smart practices.

eligibility Requirements

  • Enrolled farm and field(s) must be located within the 21 counties or a Tribal Nation of the Fox-Wolf Basin:
    • Adams, Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Forest, Green Lake, Marathon, Manitowoc, Marquette, Menominee, Langlade, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago Counties. Additionally, Tribal Nations and Reservations located within the Basin are eligible for enrollment. Reservations eligible for enrollment include Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Oneida Nations.
  • While all producers located in counties and Tribal Nations within the Fox-Wolf Basin may participate, enrollment is dependent on the availability of dedicated technical assistance staff to see through the implementation of the project. Priority will be given to producers in Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago counties.
  • Producers may not be receiving funding for or be currently implementing incentivized practices on contracted fields.
  • Producers must be enrolled with USDA-FSA. FSA Enrollment is required for participation.
    • Technical support to assist with enrollment is available, through this program, by Wisconsin Farmers Union.
  • Producers must maintain land control of the contracted fields for the entirety of the contract and provide documentation of lease agreements where applicable.
  • Producers must be U.S. citizens and not foreign persons or entities.
  • Producers must agree to follow program standards as defined by NRCS related to incentivized practices.
  • Producers must be committed to implementing incentivized practices long-term. Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is seeking producers that are interested in continuing to implement practices after contract ends.
Additionally, ​operations must meet Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification, Customer Data Worksheet to facilitate the collection of customer data for Business Partner Record, and NRCS Environmental Evaluation CPA-52 Worksheet if applicable.

 

Contact local Fox-Wolf or County Land Conservation Climate Smart Staff for more information and to determine eligibility.

If you’re ready to apply, select a Farm Climate Smart Practice from the section below.

Farm Climate Smart Practices

Continuous Cover System

Conservation Planning

Low Disturbance Manure Application

Information Coming Soon

Wildlife Plantings

Information Coming Soon

Precision Ag Farm Business Planning

Information Coming Soon

Additional Practices

Information Coming Soon

enrollment

Ready to start farming Climate Smart? To begin enrollment, review chosen Farm Climate Smart practice requirements and eligibility in the section above. Details are provided by clicking above on the practice you would like to enroll. Additional information on each practice can also be found on these pages including specific practice requirements, any additional eligibility standards, FAQ, and contact information.

When you are ready to enroll, complete and submit the required application documents. Simply download, fill out, and email or mail to Fox-Wolf. Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance will respond within 2 weeks upon receipt of application. Timeline is dependent upon eligibility verification through USDA-FSA.

Producer Application Packet

Click to View or Download

Download and Fill Out Documents

To begin enrollment, download and fill out the Producer Application. To download, click the image and follow the download instructions prompted by your browser.

All documents may be filled out online or by hand. Either way you decide to complete the application, the documents must be signed and dated by hand or as an encrypted digital signature.

Need help filling out the Application or have questions? Reach out to a Farm Climate Smart staff member for assistance. Contact information can be found in the section below.

Frequently asked questions

A variety of practices that have been defined by USDA-NRCS as Climate Smart (providing a climate benefit) are eligible for incentive or cost share through Farm Climate Smart.  

The Continuous Cover System a is keystone of the Farm Climate Smart program. This system is a combination of cover crops and no-till, with optional LDMA, for a 2-year duration.  Incentives are provided for data sharing and participating in a Farm Progress Report meeting.

Conservation Planning with the Farm Progress Report can also be incentivized separately outside of the Continuous Cover System.

In partnership with Pheasants Forever, cost-share funds for Wildlife Planting and Precision Agriculture Analysis farm planning are available.

Funding is available for additional conservation practices that address the needs of small or underserved producers.  This list of practices is under development and will be included in the Climate Smart Practice list as details are finalized.

For more details on practice standards and cost share, please see the Farm Climate Smart Practices section above.

Farms that are located within the 21 counties of the Fox-Wolf Basin (see map) are considered eligible. Farms located within the watershed boundaries will receive priority. Fox-Wolf will evaluate applications based on suitability and availability of technical assistance and reserves the right to decline enrollment from farms in counties outside the core (Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago) watershed boundaries.

Additional requirements apply, as outlined in the Requirements for Enrollment section above.  For scenario-specific questions, please contact Fox-Wolf at climatesmart@fwwa.org or your County Land Conservation Climate Smart staff listed below.

Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities is a USDA program “committed to supporting a diverse range of farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners through Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. This effort will expand markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers.  USDA is investing more than $3.1 billion for 141 projects through this effort and all the projects require meaningful involvement of small and underserved producers.”

For more information, please visit USDA’s Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities website.

No, farms of all sizes are eligible to apply.

Producers must be enrolled with FSA (have a Farm ID) before signing a contract. If a producer is not currently enrolled, they can become enrolled and then participate in the project.

Technical support to assist with FSA enrollment is available, through this program, by Wisconsin Farmers Union.  Please see the Contact Information section below to be connected with Wisconsin Farmers Union directly.

Every producer that enrolls in Farm Climate Smart is required to sign a Claw Back Agreement. The Claw Back Agreement is, simply, a legal agreement between Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance and the enrolled producer that states that if the producer violates the contract by:

  • Recipient previously or is currently participating in and receiving funds from another federal program for the same practices on the same acres enrolled in the Climate Smart program (i.e. NRCS funds).
  • Recipient’s failure to maintain and document adherence to sustainable farming practices.
  • Recipient’s violation of environmental regulations or non-compliance with Climate Smart guidelines.
  • Recipient’s misrepresentation or fraudulent reporting of Climate Smart practices.
  • Recipient’s partial or full termination of farming activities.

For more information and specifics, contact a Fox-Wolf Climate Smart staff member.

No, LDMA is currently available for cost share only as part of the Continuous Cover System (cover crops and no-till).

Underserved Producers are defined by USDA FSA and USDA NRCS guidelines.  Detailed resources can be found on their website and are summarized below.

  • Small Producers: Those making less than $350,000 in gross annual income
  • Limited Resource Farmer: Those with direct or indirect gross farm sales not more than the current indexed value in each of the previous two years, and who have a total household income at or below the national poverty level for a family of four, or less than that of 50% of the county median household income in each of the previous two years. Self-Determination tool found here.
  • Beginning Farmer: Producers who: 1) have not operated a farm or ranch, or who have operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 consecutive years, and 2) those who will materially and substantially participate in the operation of the farm or ranch. In the case of a contract with an individual or with the immediate family, material and substantial participation requires that the individual provide substantial day-to-day labor and management of the farm or ranch, consistent with the practices in the county where the farm is located. In the case of a contract made with a legal entity, all members must meet these requirements.
  • Socially Disadvantaged Farmer: A producer who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group. A socially disadvantaged group is a group whose members have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Socially disadvantaged groups consist of the following:
    • American Indian or Alaskan Native
    • Asian
    • Black or African-American
    • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
    • Hispanic
  • Veteran Farmer: A producer who served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard, including the reserve component thereof; was released from service under conditions other than dishonorable; and has not operated a farm or ranch, or has operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 years; or who first obtained status as a veteran during the most recent 10-year period. A legal entity or joint operation can be a Veteran Producer only if all individual members independently qualify.
  • Women Farmer: For an entity, at least 50% ownership in the farm business must be held by women.
  • Specialty Crop Grower: A producer who grows fruits & vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and/or horticultural and nursery crops; including but not limited to floriculture crops, Christmas Trees, and plants grown for medicinal purposes (see full list here). *While all Specialty Crop Growers qualify for cost-share, Growers must be able to demonstrate the ability to implement cost-share practices (ex. aquaponic growers would be disqualified as they cannot implement cost-shareable practices).

One initial meeting is required for enrollment producers with County staff and Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance. Additional meetings may be required or requested depending upon producer’s interest and/or circumstances. Contact County Land Conservation Department or Fox-Wolf Climate Smart staff to determine requirements for your situation.

For producers enrolled in the Continuous Cover System, meetings will occur following year 1 (two cropping seasons).

Enrolled fields cannot be changed during the contract period. Producers interested in enrolling in additional fields should contact Fox-Wolf and a new contract for those acres will be drafted. New acres enrolled will be subject to the two-year contract from the time of signature of the new contract.

Following the submission of an application, Fox-Wolf will process the paperwork and determine eligibility. This process will take a minimum of 2 weeks. Turnaround time is dependant on the availability of FSA.

If a producer is eligible, a County Land Conservation Department Climate Smart staff member will follow up to continue the application. Producers will be asked to review agreements and sign required enrollment contracts. 

Contact Information

Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance

Project Management

Katie Woodrow
(920) 915-5767
┃katie@fwwa.org

Tim Burns
(920) 841-0104
┃tim@fwwa.org

Wisconsin Farmers Union

Underserved & Small Producer Project Outreach

Erin Lenninger
(715) 382-0341
┃elenninger@wisconsinfarmersunion

Pheasants Forever

Precision Ag Analysis & Wildlife Plantings

Johnny Behrendt
(331) 201-1496
┃jbehrendt@pheasantsforever.org

County Land Conservation

Climate smart staff

Dedicated County Land Conservation Climate Smart staff are located in 8 counties throughout the Fox-Wolf Basin. Contact the staff person in the county nearest to you to determine program eligibility and to begin enrollment.

Brown County

Brent Levash
(920) 391-4620
┃brent.levash@browncountywi.gov

Calumet County

Autumn Gomez-Tagle
(920) 849-1493
┃autumn.gomeztagle@calumetcounty.org

Fond du Lac County

Justin Loehrke
(920) 414-0096
┃justin.loehrke@fdlco.wi.gov

Outagamie County

Jeremy Freund
(920) 832-5073
┃jeremy.freund@outagamie.org

Shawano County

Bill Koepke
(715) 526-4620
┃bill.koepke@shawanocountywi.gov

Waupaca County

Stefan Stults
(715) 258-6245
┃stefan.stults@co.waupaca.wi.us

Waushara County

Kaylee Overby
(920) 787-0443
┃kaylee.overby@wausharacountywi.gov

Winnebago County

Eric Bertram
(920) 232-1958
┃ebertram@winnebagocountywi.gov

Have a question?

Need help enrolling? Maybe a question about eligibility? Confused about program requirements?

Fill out the Contact Us form and we will get back to you as soon as we can!