Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
Proposal abstract:
The Montana PDP program for WSARE will utilize grant funding for two types of programs in the years 2025-2027. We will offer small professional development travel grants, and will offer medium sized program development and implementation grants to applicants to create opportunities in education about sustainable agriculture topics.
Montana will continue our professional development mini-grant sub
award program, making small allotments of funds available, up to
$3,000 per applicant, for use in attending professional
development trainings offered across the state, region, and
nationally. These professional development travel grants are
important to agriculture professionals and organizations
throughout the state of Montana. Past grants have been used to
travel and attend trainings out of state, as well as to bring
speakers and training opportunities into Montana for the benefit
of producers and agricultural professionals. We anticipate
offering twelve to fifteen professional development travel
grants, totaling approximately $36,000 over the period of the
grant.
The Montana PDP program will develop and release a call for
proposals for mid-sized professional development award of up to
$15,000. during the grant period. These grants can be used to
develop and implement training programs around sustainable
agriculture topics in the state of Montana. The call for proposal
will encourage development of multi-year professional development
opportunities that address topics in: climate change and
resiliency, diversity and inclusion in agriculture, and food
security. We anticipate awarding four to six awards of up to
$15,000. each during the duration of the grant.
Project objectives from proposal:
Montana’s objectives through the PDP mini-grant program are to increase knowledge, skills, and understanding of sustainable agricultural practices throughout the state as a result of interactions and involvement with one or more of the proposals funded through the mini-grant system, with the ultimate objective of documented implementation of that new knowledge at the producer and agribusiness level. With the mini-grant system, the Montana PDP program supports multiple projects in different fields of agriculture, and increases the overall impact of funding through offering a wide variety of project types.
During the 2022-24 grant cycle, seed potato producers, beef
cattle ranchers, berry growers, certified organic growers, cereal
grain producers, Extension professionals, Indigenous youth, and
many other groups of constituents all applied to receive funding
for professional development programming. The diversity of
opportunity to gain new knowledge and information directly
related to the specialty field the agricultural producers and
professionals work in helps to inform and encourage a change in
practice when presented with new and innovative approaches to
agriculture and sustainability.
In the 2025-2027 funding years the Montana PDP program will
continue our special emphasis on increasing the acquisition of
knowledge, skills, and application of knowledge learned in
adapting to climate change and extreme weather events in
agricultural settings. Given the realities of the the last
several growing seasons, we plan to prioritize educational
opportunities that will increase knowledge and awareness of
sustainable agricultural practices that will lead to the adoption
of practices in times of extreme weather events.