• You must produce animal products (animals, meat, dairy, or fiber) from domestic ruminant livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, bison, yaks) in pasture-based operations in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, or Texas.
• Must sell a commodity (animals, meat, dairy, or fiber) produced from your livestock each   year during the project.
• Have or be able to obtain an FSA number.
• Able to certify compliance with USDA conservation requirements for highly erodible lands and wetlands (FSA Form AD-1026).
• Have legal control of ranching or farming property in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, or Texas throughout the project, which runs through September, 2028.
• The producer or business cannot be a foreign entity.
• Able to submit bi-annual data and reporting to Quivira as required by NRCS.
• Must implement at least one conservation practice, either on your own accord or through Soil to Supper funds.
• Must implement at least one market or business development activity, or educational activity.
• Must work with Soil to Supper staff to develop a grazing management plan.

USDA offers a variety of programs, including the Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (GCRP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and more. Local soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) offer additional programs. State departments of agriculture may offer costshare programs for agriculture or conservation practices. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife offers costshare for conservation practices benefiting land health and wildlife habitat. Regional and national nonprofit groups (such as Quivira Coalition, National Grazing Lands Coalition, and Pheasants Forever), as well as local watershed groups or community-based organizations, may have active programs in your region. Reach out to the Soil to Supper staff if you have questions.

Livestock operations in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and the Texas panhandle are encouraged to apply. Priority areas for the program are:

• Portions of New Mexico’s San Miguel, Mora, and Colfax counties affected by Hermit’s Peak / Calf Canyon fires, where management activities contribute to post-fire watershed health, soil health, and drought resilience.

   

• Portions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas that overlie the Ogallala Aquifer, where agricultural stewardship activities support groundwater conservation, soil health, drought resilience, and long-term water sustainability.
  • In New Mexico, that will include parts of Union, Harding, Quay, Curry, Roosevelt, and Lea counties.
  • In Colorado, parts of Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca counties.
  • In Texas, parts of Dallam, Sherman, Hansford, Hartley, Moore, Hutchinson, Oldham, Potter, Carson, Deaf Smith, Randall, Armstrong, Parmer, Castro, Swisher, Bailey, Lamb, Hale, Cochran, Hockley, Lubbock, Yoakum, Terry, Lynn, Gaines, and Dawson counties.
• Four Corners region of San Juan and McKinley counties in New Mexico; Apache, Navajo, and Coconino counties in Arizona; and Montezuma, La Plata, and Archuleta counties in Colorado, where geographic isolation and limited access to technical and financial assistance have reduced implementation of conservation practices, and where targeted support can improve soil health, water conservation, drought resilience, and market access.

1. Producer completes interest form for the Soil to Supper project. The interest form is available here. If you completed the interest form before September 9, 2026, please complete the new form, which includes additional information to assess your eligibility for the program.

2. To be considered for the first sign-up period, producer interest forms must be received by Quivira on or before November 6, 2026. Note that while we anticipate holding a second sign-up period in February 2027, it is highly recommended to submit interest forms by November 6, 2026. Producers need to submit completed application forms to Quivira on or before November 20, 2026 to be considered in the first sign-up period. Application is a two-step process requiring both the interest and application forms. Quivira staff are available to help if you encounter issues in applying, but don’t wait until the last day to apply!

3. Quivira staff evaluate the interest form for apparent eligibility of the producer. Producers who appear to be eligible for the program will be supplied with the full application form. That form can be filled out by the applicant, or by a person assisting the applicant. Upon request, Quivira staff can assist applicants in completing the form.

4. The completed application is reviewed by Quivira staff soon after receipt of the application, and a phone interview will be scheduled between the applicant and Quivira at the earliest mutual convenience. The phone interview gives producers and the project staff the opportunity to ask questions and clarify points of confusion.

5. All applications received by Quivira on or before November 20, 2026, will be scored using the comprehensive ranking tool, and the highest scoring applicants will be invited to enroll as participants in the project.

6. Quivira’s technical assistance team will visit enrolled properties to develop site-specific grazing and/or conservation plans. Based on those plans, the producer will propose practices/activities they want to implement through the Soil to Supper project. The proposal must include at least one market development activity, at least one conservation activity, and a grazing management plan.

7. Quivira will review the proposed activities and approve those that best meet the project targets. When approval has been secured, the producer will be contracted by Quivira for those practices and the producer may begin implementation.

8. Upon completion of authorized activities, producers will notify the Quivira staff and invoice Quivira for payment. Staff will verify completion of practices, and then the producer will invoice Quivira for payment.

9. Payment for completed practices will be issued by Quivira to the producer within 30 days of receipt of the approved invoice.

You can provide your property deed, a signed lease (must be good through end of project), FSA records, or signed operation contracts. You don’t have to own the land, but do have to be able to demonstrate you have legal control of the enrolled acreage until at least October 1, 2028.

You will need to go to your local FSA office and establish records with them by providing deeds, leases, or other documentation for the land you want to enroll in the program, as well as providing personal documentation to establish your identity. Quivira staff may be able to assist you in this process.

Soil to Supper is for operations of all sizes, so long as they meet the eligibility requirements. This is a competitive program with scoring designed to make the best use of available funds, rather than selecting for the size of operations.

Yes, but you will only be able to implement new practices that are not in your current contracts with NRCS and FSA for the same fields.

You’ll need to check the fine print on your contractual agreement to verify whether that allows or precludes you from enrollment in this project. In the application process you will need to disclose any encumbrances to your property that could affect enrollment in Soil to Supper.

Funding for the Soil to Supper project is provided through a grant to Quivira Coalition from NRCS. Soil to Supper is slated to end in September 2028. 

Payment rates are based on an average of researched NRCS payment schedules from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Soil to Supper rates are typically 1.5 – 2 times these scheduled payments, and are designed to fully cover and incentivize implementation of practices and activities most beneficial to improving access to markets, increasing knowledge of profitable livestock production methods, and putting conservation practices in place that boost the lasting health and productivity of grazing lands. 

Some conservation practices and management activities will have a capped amount. The project has $2.5 million to cover incentives for 50 producers. The amount of money per producer will vary widely based on the specific needs of their operations in relation to the priorities of the project. Completion of the core required activities will result in at least $6,500-$10,000 per enrolled producer, with additional funding available for completion of conservation activities. Payments are capped at $100,000/producer.

• Soil carbon amendment application
• Soil health testing
• Temporary fencing, cross fencing, virtual fence
• Implementation of prescribed grazing
• Small, hand-built erosion control structures
• Livestock watering facilities (prioritizing portable systems)
• Brush management and herbaceous weed control to improve grazing lands
• Planting grazing lands to improve productivity, enhance livestock performance, or reduce water demand
• Obstruction removal of soil and vegetation deposited on grazing lands due to wildfire or floods

• Training, certifications, and development of marketing and business materials
• Agricultural and conservation education opportunities
• Business, grazing, and whole farm planning