California’s budget has allotted $32 million for projects to reduce methane created from California dairies. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation has opened the enrollment period for diaries interested in applying for the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP) and the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP).
According to CDFA, these two programs provide financial assistance for the installation of dairy digesters and implementation of non-digester-based manure management practices that result in long-term methane emissions reductions and maximize environmental co-benefits on commercial dairy and livestock operations in California. According to CDFA’s California Agriculture, The Future is Forward 2021 report, the DDRDP, “has funded 117 projects totaling approximately $195 million with another $400 million in matching funds from the sector. These projects will reduce an estimated 2.1 Million MTCO2e annually. DDRDP is one of the most successful climate change mitigation programs in terms of $/greenhouse gas reduction.” The AMMP program has invested $68 million in 116 projects totaling 220,000 MTCO2e reductions annually.
The application deadline is May 9th. Community resources are available on the department’s website. CDFA will also host application workshops on Wednesday, March 16th, and Friday, March 25th for those who need assistance. This year, there is a new online tool available for operations looking to participate in the AMMP. It’s a project planning tool that helps potential participants describe and visualize their projects and explore the estimated greenhouse gas benefits. This tool will also produce a report with estimates which can be used in the application.
The Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation also is the home for other sustainability programs such as the Healthy Soils Program, State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program, Conservation Agriculture Planning Grants Program, Cannabis Appellations Program, Sustainable California Grown Cannabis Pilot Program, Pollinator Habitat Program, and the Water Efficiency Technical Assistance Program.
To register for the workshops, review the environmental benefits of past awarded projects and look at past applications visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/.