On November 13, 2024 ICCON welcomed Jean Brokish, Deputy Director of the Midwest Region at American Farmland Trust, to present on the Financial INcentives Database tool – The FIND tool created by the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership. The tool was created to address the complexity of identifying financial incentives available to farmers for implementing a wide range of practices. Many farmers are reluctant to try a new management system or practice if they are unsure of the risks or considerations involved. The FIND Tool aims to cut through the clutter and help distill the programs available to farmers based on their experience and interests.
According to data from an Iowa Farm and Rural Life poll, approximately half or more of farmers polled said that they would be more likely to try a new practice or expand its use if there was a financial incentive available for doing it. Going a step further, SARE Data indicates that almost 90% of farmers who began using cover crops because of being involved in a financial incentive program intend to keep using the practice even after the incentive program ends.
Jean provided the group with a step by step walk through of how a farmer can filter through the database to find incentives available based on 3 basic criteria.
The user interface is friendly and easy to navigate by simply answering the initial questions. Once the basics have been captured the tool provides a list of all the incentives that a farmer is eligible for and then allows additional sorting to occur based on user preference. The programs are also identified by whether they claim a farmer’s carbon credit and what funding source supports the program:
- Carbon Programs – claim a farmers carbon asset and often require new practices to be eligible
- Public/Government – public (tax) money usually through a government agency like NRCS or state department of agriculture – not stackable with other public programs but potentially stackable with some of the private programs.
- Climate Smart Commodities w/ Carbon – often combined public and private funding and carbon asset is claimed. Generally, not stackable with other programs – stand alone.
- Climate Smart Commodities w/out Carbon – combined public and private funding but may be stackable with private carbon programs.
Each category is assigned an icon to help the user understand how each incentive is categorized. The user can make decisions about which programs to explore based on these criteria to help decide or rule out programs that they might be interested in participating in. The user can view programs side-by-side for easy, direct comparison of contract length and other program requirements. Links are provided to a more in-depth breakdown of each program to help the user find answers to questions they may have. These pages are printable so farmers can have a hard copy to take with them wherever they may need to reference the information. Links are also available directly each program’s website to find program contact information and begin the application process.
The FIND Tool can be accessed at www.ilsustainableag.org/FINDTool. To add an existing program to the tool, please use this submission form to include the program information.
Information in this tool is current as of June 1, 2024. Information may have changed since that time. Users are encouraged to confirm the latest information through the organization’s website. The information in this tool will be updated on an annual basis. Jean’s full presentation can be viewed on ISAP’s YouTube page. If you are interested in joining the Illinois Cover Crop On-Farm Network to learn about new research and hear from cover crop specialists across the Midwest, please join our google group by sending an email to hello@ilsustainableag.org.
