Projects selected for funding in 2022:
Sustainable Food & Agriculture Fund
Bridge House
Mission Meals for Casa De La Esperanza Community | $21,000
Bride House’s Mission Meals program is providing frozen, precooked meals-in-a-bag to food-insecure households within Casa De La Esperanza Community, a residential community dedicated to helping agricultural workers. Prioritization of sourcing locally grown food will be made when cost effective and available.
“Bridge House’s Community Table Kitchen social enterprise is excited to provide Mission Meals to the residents of the Casa De La Esperanza farming community in Longmont,” said Brenda Pearson, director of development and evaluation at Bridge House. “We appreciate all that these residents do to contribute to the food life cycle in Boulder County and cannot think of a more deserving community to help.”
Eco-Cycle
On-Farm Composting and Compost-Use Demonstrations | $37,000
Eco-Cycle is providing aerated static pile on-farm composting systems to several high-profile farm partners. They are testing a variety of finished compost blends to meet the needs of local regenerative farmers.
“Eco-Cycle is partnering with local regenerative farmers to design and build on-farm composting systems to both demonstrate making quality compost and to trial innovative uses of finished compost,” said Dan Matsch, manager at Eco-Cycle. “We are excited to work with some of our most innovative local farmers to put our organic waste resources to use and to build a community-based compost system that will help us make Boulder County soils more resilient to climate change.”
Grama Grass & Livestock
Regenerative Livestock Infrastructure | $56,000
Funding went towards the purchase of equipment to enable the efficient transportation of cattle, an agroecological impact evaluation to quantify the impacts of their regenerative grazing program, and community outreach and education. Grama Grass & Livestock is implementing regenerative practices on publicly held and privately owned land to help build native food resiliency.
“This funding will provide the infrastructure for us to move cattle from one property to another based on the needs of the land,” said Andy Breiter, steward/owner of Grama Grass & Livestock. “Additionally, this funding will allow us to study our holistic management techniques on the cattle and soil.”
Jack’s Solar Garden
Agrivoltaics Equipment, Infrastructure, and Education | $40,000
Jack’s Solar Garden is the country’s largest demonstration project of agrivoltaics, which is the co-development of land for both solar photovoltaic power and agriculture. Through partnerships with Sprout City Farms and the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center, Jack’s Solar Garden is using funding to invest in on-site farm infrastructure and equipment to further their regenerative agriculture practices.
“It’s amazing to live in a community with a local government that creates opportunities like the Boulder County Sustainable Food & Agriculture Fund,” said Byron Komineck, owner of Jack’s Solar Garden.
Light Root Community Farm
Soil Health Resiliency with Holistic Farm Management Practices | $40,000
Light Root Community Farm is building soil health and farm resiliency through fertility management systems within the farm. This includes expanding compost production, multi-species grazing systems, cover cropping, and reduced tillage.
“We are excited about this farm project because it takes a multi-faceted approach to supporting the overall health of our farm,” said Daphne Kingsley of Light Root Community Farm. “This project is a way for us to give back to the land and the community by building a healthy and diverse farm ecosystem.”
MASA Seed Foundation
Building a Local Grain Movement from the Ground Up with Soil, Seed, and Diversity | $75,000
This project is advancing Colorado’s ancient and heritage grain movement by bringing a wider diversity of grains into production, using regenerative practices, and working with a community of regional partners to share best practices through a series of fun educational events.
“This grant will help fund the purchase of a world class Research Plot Combine,” said Richard Pecoraro, founder of MASA Seed Foundation. “MASA Seed Foundation is building a bioregional seed bank and we will utilize this crucial piece of equipment to stabilize local, organic agriculture with the use of regionally adapted and improved open pollinated seeds for Front Range farmers and gardeners.”
Project Protect Promotora Network
Boulder County Resource Distribution | $42,500
The Project Protect Promotora Networks serves frontline farm workers across six different agricultural regions of Colorado. Funds are being used to purchase safety resources for frontline farm workers in Boulder County.
“The Project Protect Promotora Network is excited to partner with the Boulder County Sustainable Food & Agriculture Fund to support Boulder County’s agricultural workers,” said Hunter Knapp, development director at Project Protect Promotora Network. “The funding will provide workers with the clothing and supplies they need to remain safe while working in extreme temperatures throughout the year. Protecting workers from the escalating effects of climate change will ensure Boulder County producers remain sustainable and resilient.”
Suarez Market at Mariposa
High Density Apple Orchard | $68,000
Mariposa Farms is establishing a high-density apple orchard to produce apple products. Orchard design will focus on energy and water conservation using existing on-site solar power, under-tree mulch strips to conserve soil moisture during periods of drought, and subsurface tiling to encourage deeper root growth. By year two, the project is estimated to produce 10,000 pounds of fruit per year and sequester approximately 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
“We are thrilled to be a large-fund recipient of the Sustainable Food & Agcriculture Fund,” said Lisa Suarez-Tadus, owner of Mariposa Farm. “The money will help establish a high-density apple orchard generating fresh produce, juice, and wines for our new community here in Boulder County.”
Small projects:
Boulder Jewish Community Center
Milk and Honey Farm | $2,432
Milk and Honey Farm is implementing no-till farming and cover crops to sequester carbon, maintain soil health, and increase the efficiency of their educational farm. Funding will be used for tools, compost, silage tarps, and perennials.
Boulder Valley Honey
Pollinator Education and Hotspots | $4,948
Boulder Valley Honey is leveraging raw, local, and recycled materials to build pollinator presence throughout eastern Boulder County. Boulder Valley Honey will purchase local rough-sawn lumber to process into beehives while providing hands-on educational opportunities to to further public understanding of beekeeping and honey production.
Citizen Science Soil Health Project
Website Plus Grower Video Profiles | $2,700
The Citizen Science Soil Health Project helps growers measure soil improvements by providing free Haney and PLFA soil health tests. This funding is being used to create a website that will feature annual group findings, reporting templates, and instructional videos.
Harvest of All First Nations and Drylands Agroecology Research
Harvest of All First Nations Festival | $5,000
The Harvest of All First Nations festival will foster cultural and ecological regeneration by reconnecting BIPOC communities with their traditional foodways. This event brought together diverse groups to share locally-grown heritage foods and Indigenous Knowledge through workshops and classes.
Kelly Enterprises
Supporting Low-Income Voucher Programs at Boulder County Farmers’ Markets | $4,920
The Erie and Louisville Farmers’ Markets, frontline farm organizations run by Kelly Enterprises, will participate in low-income voucher programs starting in 2022. These programs will advance equity and inclusion at these farmers’ markets and in their host communities by aiding frontline farm workers and providing local, and sustainable food to residents.
Simple Bee Conservation
Boulder Community Pollinator Corridor and Living Classrooms | $5,000
Simply Bee Organics is creating a chain of conservation pollinator gardens, native bee habitat, and living classrooms in collaboration with local farms, schools, non-profits, community gardens, municipalities, local businesses, HOAs, neighborhoods, and private residences.
Previous Sustainable Food & Agriculture Fund grant recipients:
Flatirons Young Farmers Coalition
Educational Curriculum for Resilient and Sustainable Young Farmers | $25,000
The Flatirons Young Farmers Coalition is providing a 2-year educational curriculum that focuses on animal husbandry, soil restoration, business fundamentals for farming and ranching, and the production and distribution of small-scale grains. This project emphasizes place-based education that lifts the expertise of established local farmers while also empowering beginner farmers.
Garden to Table
Outreach and Training for Sustainable Growing Practices in School Gardens | $25,000
Garden to Table is a school garden support organization serving 18 schools in Boulder County. Garden to Table is creating a Teacher and Parent Corps that will help integrate garden-based learning into school curriculum and activities. This project provides outreach, training, support, and bilingual educational signage to make sure all students feel welcome while learning about sustainable growing practices and the importance of their school garden.
Growing Gardens
Long’s Gardens Conservation and Agricultural Plan Implementation | $35,250
Growing Gardens is implementing a comprehensive ten-year agricultural management plan on Long’s Gardens, a 25-acre urban educational farm. This initiative improves soil health and farm ecology to support the production of local food while involving and educating the public about the benefits of regenerative agriculture.
Kilt Farm
Land Regeneration Pilot Project for Public and Private Lands | $75,000
Kilt Farm is using mineral balancing, biological inoculations, and cover cropping to turn poor soil into productive agricultural land while cataloging costs, benefits, and improvements so that this technique can be utilized and replicated by other Front Range farmers. The equipment and techniques supported by this grant is being utilized by multiple farms on both public and private lands.
Boulder Mushroom
Fungal Inoculation of On-Farm Biomass for Carbon Negative Farming Best Practices| $4,107
This is a scalable pilot project in which fungal inoculation of on-farm woody biomass was tested as a method for building biologically active soil and transforming waste carbon material. Test beds were built at Ollin Farms and inoculated with edible strains of fungi produced by Boulder Mushroom. The beds are being monitored for one year and subsequently analyzed for the nutrient availability and biological makeup of the product
Community Table Farm
Mushrooms and Composting on Small Farms| $1,893
Community Table Farm built a fruiting chamber to produce mushrooms as a value-added product for their CSA and use the mushroom compost as an amendment for garden beds. They built a cost-effective model of on-farm production of mushrooms and soil amendments that can be replicated on small farms.
Isabelle Farm
Regenerative Grazing on Forage & Cover Crops | $50,000
Isabelle Farm converted 300 acres of cropland from a traditional hay, grain, and silage rotation to a cover crop-grazing system. Isabelle Farm used portable infrastructure to facilitate regenerative grazing on no-till cover crops and forage crops. Additionally, this project increased the crop residue grazing program that Isabelle Farm started in 2019 in collaboration with Van Thuyne Farms.
Red Wagon Farm
Increasing the Local Winter Food Supply for Boulder County | $40,000
Red Wagon Farm increased their production of winter root crops for their CSA members, local restaurant customers, and wholesale customers. This project improves soil health and optimize seasonal produce distribution.
Dharma’s Garden
Outdoor Education Shelter | $5,000
This project used funds to purchase a seasonal shelter that allowed for socially distanced outdoor education. This included farm demonstrations and best practice workshops about regenerative agriculture and soil health.
Earth’s Table
Demonstrate Regenerative Agriculture Techniques for Six Vegetable Gardens | $4,000
This program improved soil health in six vegetable gardens by minimizing soil disturbance, utilizing cover crops, and implementing living roots to grow garden vegetables for local food banks. Earth’s Table partnered with Edaphic Solutions to brew compost tea to be used in the gardens.
Ollin Farms
Project 95 | $40,000
The mission of Project 95 is to turn the south side of Longmont into a demonstration of what is possible when farmers, scientists, community members, students, and neighbors work together with the common goal of building health and resiliency into our agricultural lands. The funding of $40,000 was geared to support five on-farm demonstration areas including conservation plan implementation, sustainable carbon cycling, community-based learning opportunities, pollinator and bird sanctuaries, and eco system data collection.
McCauley Family Farms
Multi-Species Pasture Regeneration | $40,000
The McCauley Family Farms project of $40,000 funded infrastructure to facilitate regenerative production and soil-building efforts. Specifically, the funds went to multi-species pasture regeneration units: shade structures, water trailers, and solar trailers. These regeneration units facilitated soil building on 80 acres and were used for on farm demonstrations.
Cure Organic Farm
Increasing Agro-Ecological Diversity | $41,416
Cure’s Organic Farm’s project supported the increase of agro-ecological habitat of the farm by adding regenerative agriculture practices and increasing soil health. Cure used funds to plant wind breaks to decrease soil erosion and create native pollinator habitat. The farm also increased soil organic matter and microbiology by increasing use of irrigated cover crops. Equipment and irrigation infrastructure was also purchased.
Cottonwood Farms
Brown to Green Soil Health Project | $46,300
The Cottonwood Farm “Brown to Green Regenerative Soil Health Project” represents a shift in vision from seeing the beauty of brown freshly tilled soil to seeing the promise of covered and undisturbed soil with all of the unseen life underneath for the farm. Cottonwood Farms tested and demonstrated the use of basic soil health principles and their adaptability to our local climate using methods and tools that are scalable to both larger and smaller operations. The goals of the project were to demonstrate viable agricultural production while (1) minimizing soil disturbance, (2) keeping soil covered as much as possible, (3) keeping a living root in the ground as long as possible, and (4) add diversity through cover and companion crops.
Aspen Moon Farm
Heritage Grains & Cover Cropping | $55,000
Aspen Moon increased edible grain production and addressed the need for regenerative agriculture and soil health practices. They purchased multipurpose equipment for rotational cover cropping, production of local heritage grains, and regenerative seed saving. The production of local heritage grains seeked to address the need for sustainable local food and crop production. Aspen Moon also offered on-farm training for local farms to demonstrate how the equipment could be used to improve soil health while producing a sustainable local crop.
Black Cat Organic Farm
Pasture Cropping: Organic Grain Production in Perennial Pastures | $43,500
Black Cat Organic Farm trialed the regenerative agricultural practice of pasture cropping, an innovative agricultural growing system new to Boulder County. Pasture cropping integrates annual cereal grain or vegetable production into perennial sod fields with maximum diversity and as little disturbance as possible. The funding was used for farm infrastructure, equipment, and supplies.
Sky Pilot Farm
Regenerative Grazing | $43,500
Funding went to more mobile fencing, water transport, and access to shade. Sudden changes in weather, carrying capacity of a paddock, or seasonal trends can change what these movement need to look like on a year-to-year basis. SkyPilot Farm needed to have enough infrastructure to set up several movements worth of paddock to have the ability to act quickly on arising information in the field such as weather and general health of the pasture. This project benefited Boulder County sustainability goals in three key areas: health of riparian areas, a focus on pollinators, and encouraging native grasslands and wildlife.