Sand County Foundation Awards Grants to Farmer-led Watershed Groups
July 07, 2025
Sand County Foundation has announced the recipients of its Farmer-Led Fund for Watershed Improvement.
The Wisconsin-based national nonprofit conservation organization is awarding $680,000 to nine farmer-led groups throughout Wisconsin to fund locally designed incentives and technical assistance for farmers within select watersheds.
“We’re honored to invest in conservation by partnering on projects that make a difference on the landscape,” said Craig Ficenec, Sand County Foundation’s Senior Director of Agricultural Conservation.
“There is growing enthusiasm by farmers to think creatively about how to address local conservation challenges,” said Ficenec. “These grants provide the flexibility for local groups of concerned farmers to determine which conservation practices and financial incentives will best serve their region.”
The grant recipients include:
- Farmers of Fourteen Mile Creek, $100,000
- Farmers of the Sugar River, $100,000
- Kenosha Regenerative Producers Group, $30,000
- Rock River Regenerative Graziers, $50,000
- Sauk Soil & Water Improvement Group, $100,000
- Seven Rivers Soil Cooperative Inc, $50,000
- Walworth Alliance Teaching Regenerative Systems, $50,000
- Watershed Protection Committee of Racine County, $100,000
- Yahara Pride Farms Inc., $100,000
The grant recipients will host farmer-focused educational events and employ a variety of agricultural practices to improve local water resources. Practices covered by the grants include cover crops, reseeding pastures and removal of woody invasive plants for grazing livestock, habitat for grassland birds, reduced tillage, and applications of biochar.
Funding for the Farmer-Led Fund for Watershed Improvement is part of a $13.8 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program award that Sand County Foundation secured from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to assist farmer-led environmental efforts in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.
Sand County Foundation inspires and empowers farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners to ethically care for the land to sustain water resources, build healthy soil, and enhance wildlife habitat.