Ag Resource X · Colorado Primer
Colorado Funding Primer
What's open for Colorado farms and ranches this November, December, and January, and how we get it done for you.
Photo: wheat harvest in Colorado (CSU)
What we're working on in Colorado
Tax credits, resilience grants, and grazing money, stacked so they don't collide.
We map each operation's acres and practices first, so every program pays without canceling another.
Agricultural Stewardship Tax Credit
Up to $300,000 a year
Opens Nov 16, 2026, 10 AM MT
A refundable state tax credit for stewardship practices, including prescribed grazing, rangeland seeding, and invasive plant control. Credits run for three years, and more practices raise the cap.
First come, first served: last round filled in under 2 minutes. Can conflict with other grants on the same land and practice, so we plan the acres.
Climate Resilience Grant (Comprehensive)
Up to $150,000
Due Nov 23, 2026
Colorado Department of Agriculture funding for soil health, water, and resilience projects, including grazing systems and the infrastructure behind them.
20% match, which in-kind work can help cover.
Grazing funding
Growing GRASS: $3,000 + up to $21,000
Enrolling now
Beef and bison producers who graze can enroll in Growing GRASS for $3,000, then get reimbursed for soil and forage testing, audits, and training. Prescribed grazing also qualifies for the stewardship tax credit.
Colorado's five farm regions
County-level map. Irrigated valleys, dryland plains and high-altitude basins farm very differently.
Each region has its own crops, counties and hubs.
Colors match the map.
Northeast / South Platte Valley Green
Weld County is #1 in Colorado: $2.4B in sales, 1.99M acres.
Irrigated corn, sugar beets, alfalfa, dairies, feedlots.
- Weld, Larimer, Boulder, Adams, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Yuma
- Hubs: Greeley, Fort Morgan
Eastern Plains, dryland Gold
Dryland winter wheat, proso millet, grain sorghum, sunflowers, cattle.
- Washington, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Elbert, Arapahoe, Kiowa
Southeast / Arkansas Valley Red
Las Animas County has 1.8M acres in farms.
Rocky Ford melons, onions, alfalfa, big cattle ranches.
- Otero, Prowers, Bent, Crowley, Pueblo, Las Animas, Baca
San Luis Valley Blue
About 7,500 feet. Shortest season in the state.
Potatoes, malting barley, alfalfa.
- Rio Grande, Alamosa, Saguache, Conejos, Costilla
Western Slope Purple
Longest season in the state.
Palisade peaches, apples, wine grapes, Olathe sweet corn, hay.
- Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Garfield, Montezuma
How we fix your back office now
Your winter, handled: November through January.
November
Lock the near deadlines
We line up your Agricultural Stewardship Tax Credit filing for the Nov 16 opening, file the $150,000 Climate Resilience grant by Nov 23, and enroll grazing operations in Growing GRASS.
December
Water and resilience projects
We support ditch companies and districts on Colorado Water Plan grants due Dec 1 and keep tax credit acres clear of conflicting grants.
January
Set up 2027
We get your FSA records, maps, budgets, and receipts in one place, so next year's applications start ready.
Open November through January, as of Nov 1, 2026
Colorado funding windows for farms, ranches and ag businesses
| Program | Deadline | Award | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDA Ag Workforce Development (interns) | Nov 2, 2026, 5 pm MT | Up to $5,000 | 50% of 2027 intern costs |
| CDA Ag Stewardship Tax Credit | Opens Nov 16, 2026 | Up to $300,000 | Refundable; $3M total; first-come, filled in under 2 minutes last year |
| CDA Climate Resilience (Comprehensive) | Nov 23, 2026 | Up to $150,000 | 20% match |
| CWCB Water Plan Grant (Agriculture) | Dec 1, 2026 | Varies | Ditch companies, districts, nonprofits |
| C3 Circular Communities Mini Grant | Open, rolling | Up to $50,000 | Waste diversion: compost, biochar, recycling, reuse; no match; reimbursed |
Sources
- Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Growing GRASS
- Colorado Circular Communities (C3), CDPHE