Ranch and Farm Plans

Technical Support & Services
Apply

The Carbon Ranch Initiative Planning Team works with producers over one year to gather information, find resources, and make a plan to help move management towards soil health.

 

Customized Healthy Soil Plan
This is based on an assessment of your existing farming operations. Our planners facilitate education and evaluation of existing or additional soil health practices, providing tools that inform your decisions on what soil health strategies to implement over the following 3 years. The planning process begins with asking,“What is keeping you up at night?” and together we identify and discuss barriers  and obstacles you may have in building the farm and ranch you envision. Your plan will include short- and long-term goals or pathways to a more resilient operation.

Resource Network
Connects you to people with aligned interests, expertise and values; local, state, and federal funding opportunities; equipment available in your area; and organizations that could provide specialized services or support. For those who qualify, we will provide a $500 educational stipend. 

Evaluation methods
Together, we establish simple monitoring techniques to record progress towards your stated goals. Lessons learned are shared through hosting an on-site workshop/field day. Participants of your choice might include a few farm neighbors to initiate peer support, local agency representatives, members of your management team, and Quivira staff.

 

Healthy soil is our safety net. Healthy soil absorbs, filters and retains water; cycles nutrients; and supports vegetative cover that holds soil in place and moderates temperature.

Details on Technical Support & Services

Who qualifies?
Farmers and ranchers – both beginning and established – who are located in New Mexico, interested in building soil health, and engaged in collaborating in the process. A Farm Service Agency number is not necessary to qualify. Priority is given to historically underserved farmers and ranchers. See our application below to voluntarily self identify. 

Quivira’s Investment
Technical support and services, which take place over one year, are valued at $5,000. Farm plans often are a prerequisite for many grant and cost-sharing applications. The ability to pay for technical support and services in order to access funding can often be a barrier; therefore, Quivira offers these services at reduced or no cost to historically underserved farmers and ranchers.
Your final document will contain a description of existing production methods, a customized soil plan, statement of goals and timeframe, and a list of current and applicable resources.

Farmer/Rancher Investment
Time and trust. The process is completed within approximately one year and includes at least two site visits and one workshop/field day. Communication is critical to the process and your input and availability is needed for an estimated 2 hours a month, in which you review and respond to developed planning materials, direct revisions, and give feedback/evaluations. 

Deadlines
The Technical Services Application deadline is rolling. 

The planning process guides you in clarifying, evaluating, and prioritizing your short-term and long-term goals into actionable next steps. The plan itself provides detailed documentation and assessment of your current resources and serves as a tool to measure your progress toward meeting those goals. Our team intends for these plans to be living documents that you can continue to develop and adapt to fit your changing circumstances or needs. Built into each plan are opportunities to: 

    • Combine your knowledge and expertise with that of our planning team to build healthy soil that sustains plant, animal, and human livelihoods. 
    • Implement simple monitoring to know if you are progressing toward your stated goals.
    • Improve your current relationship with funding agencies by demonstrating clear management objectives and connect with other specialists and partners through Quivira’s networks.
    • Connect you with cost share programs and other funding opportunities to help you implement conservation practices.
    • Identify and address obstacles to implementation which includes a short term and long term strategy to move you on your path.    

 

To apply, please complete the form below. You are also welcome to apply by calling planner Katherine Ottmers at ‪(505) 393-5146‬. Please direct any questions or comments on the application evaluation process or any questions about the program or feedback to planning@quiviracoalition.org

Apply for a Ranch or Farm Plan

If your New Mexico-based operation has soil health as a goal, we hope you will apply!
You should receive a confirmation message here and in your email when you submit the form. If you don’t receive one, please contact planning@quiviracoaliton.org.

  • Contact Information

  • Must be in New Mexico
  • Historically Underserved Ranchers

    Historically Underserved Ranchers (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/people/outreach/slbfr/?cid=nrcsdev11_001040)
  • The questions below will help the program continue to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion at Quivira Coalition. These questions are optional: you are not required to enter a response. We are still learning and working on a best-practice for capturing demographic data. If you have suggestions or resources you would like to share, please email us at education@quiviracoalition.org
  • Operation and goals

  • For example, this may include size, livestock, management strategy, etc.
  • This could include ecological, economic, and social goals.
  • This could be at the neighborhood, watershed, state, or national level.