HEALTHY SOILS PROGRAM (HSP)

Solana Center is an official Technical Assistance Provider for Healthy Soils Program Incentives Grants, funded by the Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS) at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The Healthy Soils Program (HSP) provides financial assistance to California farmers, growers, and ranchers for implementation of one or more HSP agricultural management practices to improve soil health, including compost & mulch application, cover cropping, no-till methods, conservation planting, and more. As a Technical Assistance Provider, Solana Center provides technical assistance to HSP program grant awardees, free of charge. 

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HSP Technical Assistance

Solana Center offers the following free assistance once CDFA has notified applicants of their status:

  1. Implementation assistance of awarded practices

  2. Reporting and documentation assistance

  3. Geotagging photos

  4. Communication with CDFA on behalf of farmers

  5. If not awarded, feedback on application to best prepare for grant cycle

Email [email protected] with inquiries or to book a technical assistance call.

A man smiling in a yellow shirt and straw hat standing next to a wheelbarrow of soil in a garden with blossoming apple trees and a clear blue sky.

HSP Resources

Informational Webinars for Applicants and Awardees

Since 2022, Solana Center has developed and presented webinars focused on compost production, use, and benefits geared toward HSP applicants and awardees, as well as an introduction to other common practices.

Please enjoy the webinar recordings and associated resource lists below. Made possible through generous funding from OARS, CDFA, and CA Climate Investments.

Producing Compost On-Site with the Healthy Soils Program

Compost: A Misunderstood & Under-Utilized Natural Resource for Creating Healthy Soil, Food, Water & Air Quality

Integrating Compost, Plants, & Water Catchment for Sustainable Farmscaping

Aerated Static Pile Composting

2024 Healthy Soils Program Grant Basics Informational Webinar

2025 Healthy Soils Program Webinar: Compost, Mulch, Cover Crops, & Hedgerows

The four most commonly awarded healthy soil farming practices are compost, mulch, implementing native species hedgerows, and cover crops. 

Healthy Soils Program is funded by California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment - particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Future HSP Applicants

Apple orchard with rows of apple trees bearing red apples, some apples fallen on the grass pathway between the rows.

The Healthy Soils Program grant solicitation period is currently closed. Sign up for Solana Center's HSP interest list to be notified when the next grant cycle is open for applications.

More soil resources
Join the interest list for next grant cycle