The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center have awarded $50,000 to Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology to launch the Carbon Farming Planning Cohorts program. This program, designed to help farmers adapt to a changing climate, includes support for planning, funding, and implementing carbon farming practices around the 10-county region of Northwest Lower Michigan.

“The model we are using is peer-to-peer education,” says Brad Kik, co-director of Crosshatch. “Having experts on hand to share new research and demonstrate best practices is important, but nothing takes the place of farmers learning from each other, on the ground, in person.”

These new peer-to-peer cohorts will address environmental practices, sustainability, and stewardship on regional farms, as well as farm and ranch family well-being. Participants in the program will conduct peer assessments, touring each others’ farms throughout the season, with an end goal of assisting farmers in crafting a plan for implementation.

For more information about the Carbon Farming Planning Cohorts program, email Amanda Kik at amanda@crosshatch.org