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Winnebago County staff preview federal 'Advancing Markets for Producers' grant, urge outreach to farmers
Summary
Winnebago County’s Land & Water Conservation director said a retooled USDA program (Advancing Markets for Producers) could provide roughly $3–3.5 million in regional conservation funds; the county is preparing outreach and expects farmers to be billed locally and reimbursed through the program managed regionally by Fox Wolf.
Chad, director of the Land and Water Conservation Department, told the committee the federal program formerly tied to Climate Smart incentives has been restructured and renamed the Advancing Markets for Producers grant and could bring $3–3.5 million in regional funding for conservation practices.
The county is a priority for the program because of the Winnebago Waterways partnership, Chad said, and the regional manager (Fox Wolf) will administer contracts and payments. “They’re calling it now the Advancing Markets for Producers grant,” he said. Chad said department staff have met with regional partners but that a formal signature on program documents remained pending.
Under the county’s proposed local process, the department would perform outreach and engineering work, invoice farmers for those services and expect the invoices to be 100% reimbursed through the grant managed by Fox Wolf. “They’re looking at a 100% cost share for farmers,” the director said, adding that the county needs to set local billing rates and work with finance to put procedures in place.
Why it matters: staff described the program as an opportunity to accelerate on‑farm conservation (cover crops, nutrient management, prescribed grazing and other practices) without imposing a net cost on participating producers, but they warned the program will require administrative work by the county and careful coordination with the regional grant administrator.
Next steps and timing: Chad said the region is awaiting formal paperwork and encouraged staff to prepare outreach immediately once the grant details are finalized so farmers can access funds when the program opens. The committee did not take a formal vote on the county’s outreach approach at this meeting.
