In 2023, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), through their California Underserved Small Producers (CUSP) Program, provided Sierra RCD with a block grant of $825,000 to distribute economic relief grants to producers and ranchers that experienced drought impacts. Sierra RCD held a round in Winter 2023/2024, offering financial support to farmers and producers impacted by the 2020-2023 drought.
Sierra RCD’s Agriculture and Rangeland Program is preparing to reopen its drought relief grant to producers and ranchers impacted by the 2020-2023 drought. Sierra RCD awarded $603,280 of the $825,000 block grant provided by the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s CUSP (California Underserved Small Producers) Program. Starting Monday, November 18th, 2024, producers and ranchers can apply to the second round of funding to be awarded up to $20,000 to offset the drought impacts they experienced.
One of Sierra RCD’s CUSP Drought Relief Round 1 Recipients was Tim Ogawa, a small cherry farmer in Sanger, CA. Tim received $20,000 to offset the costs of losing his crop due to the drought. Unfortunately, the 850 cherry trees on his 4-acre farm were not able to be harvested in 2023 because of climate-related impacts. Tim had done personal research on the USDA website and learned that Sierra RCD was one of the CUSP Technical Assistance providers distributing drought relief funds to producers and ranchers in California. After contacting Sierra RCD staff, Tim learned that he was eligible to apply to the Drought Relief Grant and was able to provide documentation to demonstrate crop loss during the 2020-2023 drought. He was one of 37 applicants that was awarded the Drought Relief funding through Sierra RCD.
When asked how this funding has helped his farming operations, Tim explained that it has given him the opportunity to try and farm his cherry trees another year, rather than ruling them a loss cause and removing them. Tim said that he is interested in applying to more drought relief opportunities and is willing to work with local Technical Assistance providers to overcome the challenges of farming in extreme weather conditions. He, like other eligible historically underserved* producers and ranchers, is eligible to apply for CUSP funding every 12 months.
Another farmer who received $20,000 from Sierra RCD’s CUSP Drought Relief program was Macy Xiong. Macy grows green beans on the west side of Fresno. The money she received from CUSP was used to reimburse updates to her pump and well. As the water table drops and older wells need infrastructure repairs, it can be cost prohibitive for small scale farmers to make the necessary improvements that allow them to keep irrigating their crops. This CUSP funding was important for Macy to be able to pay for the pump and well work that was urgently needed, which allowed her to keep farming.
Macy found out about the CUSP program through the UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) service. The UCCE Small Farms program offers bilingual technical assistance for farmers eligible to apply for CUSP funding. They helped Macy, and other Hmong and Spanish speaking farmers, apply for this program through Sierra RCD.
As mentioned above, the next opportunity to apply to Sierra RCD’s CUSP Drought Relief Grant is on November 18th, 2024, to receive up $20,000 in funding. See California Underserved and Small Producers Program (CUSP) | Sierra Resource Conservation District (sierrarcd.com) for details on eligibility and reimbursable expenses or call Sierra RCD Agriculture and Rangeland Program staff at (559) 260-3802.
* 2017 Farmer Equity Act AB 1348 states that a “socially disadvantaged group” means a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination. These groups include the following: Black and African American, Native American, Alaskan Native, Latino/Latina and Hispanic, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.
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