Boulder County will allocate up to $305,000; deadline to apply is Jan. 27

Boulder County, Colo. - The Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience is allocating $305,000 for the new 2020 Sustainable Food and Agricultural Funding Program. This will be the first year the newly approved Sustainable Food and Agricultural Fund is in existence since the passing of the Sustainability Tax in 2016. Applications for this funding are now open at www.boco.org/2020AgFund.

In November 2016, voters approved the Sustainability Tax ballot initiative, to allocate a portion of sales and use tax revenue to fund countywide sustainability infrastructure and programs. Of those Sustainability Tax funds, $305,000 has specifically been set aside for sustainability-focused initiatives that will address the priority needs of local farmers and agriculture producers.

This funding opportunity will support four broad local food and agriculture areas:

1. On-farm regenerative agriculture and soil health practices;
2. Farmer/producer education, conferences, and workshops that focus on sustainable and regenerative agriculture demonstrations;
3. On-farm and farmer’s market infrastructure;
4. Sustainable local food and crop production.

Boulder County invites farmers, agricultural producers, the private sector, and non-profit organizations, or local governments to apply for this one-time capital grant funding to undertake environmental sustainability projects that benefit Boulder County agricultural lands.

Applications are now being accepted online at www.boco.org/2020AgFund and must be received by Monday, Jan. 27 at 11:59 p.m. to be considered. Project funding will begin in February 2020.

Any registered business, official non-profit organization, or government entity can apply for funding. The minimum funding amount available for a project is $40,000, with a maximum of $150,000. Any infrastructure project over $75,000 must benefit multiple farmers.

For more information about eligibility and all other fund details, please visit www.boco.org/2020AgFund or contact Zero Waste, Food, and Ag Sustainability Specialist Tim Broderick at tbroderick@bouldercounty.org or 303-907-8360.