The National Wildlife Federation is accepting applications for farmers and conservation professionals, i.e. “champions,” to conduct outreach to promote cover crops and provide region-specific information and farming knowledge to farmers and crop advisors.

Selected applicants will receive financial support for time, travel, and presentation materials, a training on messaging and presentation tools, and access to an elite network of other cover crop champions. Due to our funder’s priorities in the Mississippi River Basin, applicants are only sought from the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Applicants can apply as individuals or in pairs/groups. Priority will be given to pairs of farmer champions and outreach champions who work together in the same geographic region. Outreach champions may work with more than one farmer champion.

Farmer champion responsibilities and qualifications: Farmers who personally use cover crops and have soil health as a primary mission. The farmer champion’s role includes promoting cover crops and soil health practices around their region. They will be the spokesperson and leader of communicating with farmers that do not currently use cover crops.

Outreach champion responsibilities and qualifications: Agricultural professionals who are full time employees of a farm, conservation, or education-related organization (for example, a non-profit organization or an educational institution). The role of the outreach champion is to support farmer champions by assisting with planning and implementing their proposed outreach plan.

The outreach champion can provide information and data that farmer champions may use on the farm or in outreach efforts. The outreach champion can also identify key opportunities for farmer champions to share their expertise and also conduct some outreach. Selection and support:

Selection will be based on the following criteria: innovative outreach plan, existing capacity of the farmer champion(s) and outreach champion to implement the plan, understanding of challenges in guiding farmers to implementing cover crops. NWF will oversee champions’ efforts and offer advice and support on an ongoing basis.

For more information on how to apply by November 17, 2017, contact Jess Espenshade at: espenshadej@nwf.org or 734 887 7114.