What Does AB 2377 Do?
AB 2377 requires that 5 percent, or no more than $5 million, of the annual budgets for three Climate Smart Agriculture Programs—the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP), Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP), and Healthy Soils Program—be used to establish a Technical Assistance Fund. Eligible applicants to the fund include Resource Conservation Districts, Cooperative Extension and nonprofits. They can receive up to $100,000 annually for up to three years to support farmer applicants to the programs with outreach, project design, application assistance, and project implementation.
Importantly, AB 2377 prioritizes technical assistance for small and moderately-scaled farms and ranches and requires at least 25 percent of the technical assistance funds be provided to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, as defined by the Farmer Equity Act.
California’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs provide important financial resources to encourage farmers and ranchers to adopt farm management practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration to help meet the state’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
For more information about the bill click Here
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