This action approves an award in the amount of $1,462,410 to the sand county foundation to support their efforts with improving the water quality of the gulf of america

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 awarded $1.46 million to the Sand County Foundation under the Geographic Programs - Gulf of America Program (CFDA 66.475) to advance water quality improvements in the Gulf of America watershed. The cooperative agreement, effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028, supports a comprehensive soil health demonstration project across Nebraska and Kansas designed to enhance resilience and water quality within the Lower Missouri River Basin. The primary deliverables include recruitment and establishment of 15 demonstration farm pairs comparing soil health management practices against conventional operations, collection of annual soil health samples and real-time soil moisture and temperature sensor data, detailed farm management documentation spanning three years of baseline operations, and deployment of nutrient tracking tools to quantify conservation benefits in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium reduction.

Sub-recipients will execute critical analytical and outreach components including soil sampling and laboratory work for particle size distribution analysis, comprehensive data analysis and reporting, and farmer recruitment and engagement activities such as field day events. The project will generate baseline water quality data through CropX sensors to identify nutrient leaching trends and document the comparative environmental outcomes of soil health management approaches. Through this cooperative agreement, the Sand County Foundation will produce evidence-based findings on how soil health practices—including minimized soil disturbance, livestock integration, and maximized plant diversity—contribute to reduced nutrient and sediment loads in the Gulf watershed.

The purpose of this award is to advance the understanding of how soil health management can improve resilience and water quality within the lower missouri river basin. Annual soil health samples and real-time soil moisture and temperature sensor data will be collected across nebraska and kansas.activities:the activities to be performed include recruiting demonstration farms or ranches that integrate multiple soil health principles. These include minimizing soil disturbance, integrating livestock, and maximizing soil cover, plant diversity, and presence of living plants/roots. An adjacent farm or ranch will be invited to join the demonstration 'pair' (15-pairs). Each selected pair of farmers or ranchers will include one implementing soil health management and one conventional management. In year one, detailed farm management information including crop rotation, tillage, cover crop use, nutrient management, and operation dates will be collected from each cooperating farmer to document the previous (three years) and current operations. Water quality data will be collected (cropx sensors) to identify trends and infer which nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) may leach into the soil. A nutrient tracking tool will be used to analyze each farm's baseline management system and to estimate the conservation benefits related to any reductions in nutrient and sediment loads.subrecipient:the activities to be implemented through subawards include soil sampling, conducting a comprehensive analysis of data collected, and conducting all particle size distribution and expanded soil health laboratory work to assure consistency and comparability in measurements. Other subaward activities include outreach and assisting with farmer recruitment and field day events.outcomes:anticipated deliverables include an increased understanding of how soil health management can influence water infiltration, water holding capacity, leaching potential, aggregate stability, and other dynamic soil properties critical to farm resiliency. Such an awareness by farmers and ranchers will lead to improved conservation practices that will enhance nutrient management and water quality. Anticipated outcomes include an increase in the number of farmers and ranchers utilizing conservation practices on their land and a reduction in nutrient and sediment loads entering local water bodies. Intended beneficiaries are the farmers and communities across the lower missouri river basin and all communities along the gulf of america coast.