PRM is happy to help get out the word of one of our partners, CTIC. They have a great opportunity for producers in SD, MN, and WI to become a Cover Crop Coach.
The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) is a proud partner with Farmers for Soil Health – created by the National Corn Growers Association, United Soybean Board and the National Pork board. The partnership has an ambitious goal to expand cover crop adoption to 30 million acres by 2030. The immediate opportunity made possible through a Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodity grant from USDA focuses on accelerating cover crop adoption by corn and soybean farmers across 20 states by providing increased financial and technical resources. CTIC’s role is to provide outreach and technical assistance to farmers in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin and CTIC has established a goal of enrolling 500 farmers representing 87,000 acres into the program. CTIC has dedicated, full-time Soil Health Specialists in each state to work one on one with farmers and their advisors to understand the program, assess potential fit for their operations and ultimately support farmers’ who successfully adopt or expand use of cover crops.
Thanks to generous funding from General Mills, CTIC is pleased to announce the launch of a farmer-to-farmer cover crop coaching program to facilitate practical and actionable knowledge sharing. CTIC is now recruiting nine farmers (three each in MN, SD, WI) with demonstrated use of cover crops who will consult seasonally in 2024 while avoiding peak planting and harvest workloads. The selected farmers will assist CTIC and participating FSH farmers to provide cover crop how-to advice that will range from seeding mixes to planter set-ups to termination strategies and more. These cover crop coaches will be financially compensated for their time and travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Farmer applicants for the Cover Crop Coach contract positions should have the following qualifications:
Have proven experience incorporating cover crops into their corn and soybean operations.
Experience incorporating livestock is valuable but not required.
Be an energetic and passionate conservation-minded farmer interested in listening and mentoring to accelerate cover crop adoption in their state.
Willing to travel within a region of your state (with reimbursement) to meet prospective and participating farmers to support their adoption of cover crops and offer personalized one on one coaching.
Is willing to host a field day on your farm during summer of 2024 to convene farmers to showcase your use of cover crops and related soil health improvements.
Is interested in assisting with outreach activities such as webinars, podcasts and possibly attending farm shows/soil health workshops.
Compensation:
The selected farmers will serve as independent contractors and hold the title of Cover Crop Coach and sign a contract with CTIC. The total compensation available per Coach is $8,500 and is based on the tasks below. Additionally, up to $1,500 is available to reimburse travel expenses including miles, meals and hotel stays (if warranted).
| Priority Tasks | Rate |
| On-Farm Coaching Sessions | $75/hour |
| Field Day Organizing & Hosting | $1,000 |
| Secondary Tasks | |
| Attendance at workshops & supporting CTIC FSH booths | $75/hour |
| Participating in Webinar/Podcast | $75/hour |
| Bi-weekly virtual coordination with Soil Health Specialists | $75/hour |
| Travel | $0.655/mile, $59/per diem, Hotel – actual cost |
For Questions and How to Apply:
To be considered for a Cover Crop Coach, send a letter of interest no later than December 31, 2023 via email to [email protected] describing your farm operation and location, your interest in conservation ag including any sustainability and regenerative ag practices you have utilized, involvement in any conservation or agriculture organizations, familiarity and use of social media and preferred platforms, and other supporting information that helps describe your interest in supporting other farmers to accelerate conservation ag. CTIC will review the letters of interest on a rolling basis.
Contact:
Ryan Heiniger, Executive Director [email protected] or 319-768-8348
Deadline to Apply:
Letters of interest must be received by 5 p.m. on December 31, 2023
