Sonoma-Marin Ag and County Climate Coalition (SMACCC)

The Sonoma-Marin Ag and County Climate Coalition (SMACCC) Carbon Farming project will create and support a regional supply chain of diverse climate-smart agricultural commodities and catalyze the development of a regional carbon finance program to sustain and scale implementation and implementation support over the long term. This project is funded by a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities award, as well as $2.35 million in match from partner organizations.  It will support the production and marketing of climate-smart commodities by providing voluntary incentives to producers and landowners to implement climate-smart agricultural production practices on working lands.

SMACCC Application Information

The SMACCC represents a large partnership effort across multiple organizations from both Sonoma and Marin counties, with Sonoma County acting as the lead entity.  Partners on this project who will receive pass-through funds include:

1. Marin Resource Conservation District
2. Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
3. Sonoma Resource Conservation District
4. Agricultural Institute of Marin
5. Marin Agricultural Land Trust
6. University of California Cooperative Extension
7. Carbon Cycle Institute
8. Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
9. Sonoma Farm Bureau

Project partners were selected to build upon long-standing partnerships between County governments, Resource Conservation Districts, University Extension Services, climate and ag-centered community-based organizations, and USDA NRCS.

The SMACCC project will focus on successful carbon farming and the forging of regional and local food partnerships across the two Bay Area counties to create a regional supply chain, tracking system and marketing campaign for “climate-smart agricultural products” – agricultural commodities produced using farming, ranching or forestry practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. Carbon farming is a term used to describe several strategies that maximize long-term carbon sequestration and reduce emissions in agriculture. The project will help achieve the ambitious climate mitigation goals established in formal county climate action planning documents.

The SMACCC project is a regional approach to creating climate-resilient agricultural landscapes through local partnerships and engagement with the agricultural community. This builds upon long-standing partnerships among county governments, Resource Conservation Districts, University Extension Services, climate and agriculture-centered community-based organizations, and USDA to support, monitor and verify the implementation of impactful climate-smart practices. The project also builds upon the partners’ existing online database system to track project implementation, costs, and impacts. It will demonstrate and track the success of implementing these practices at a larger scale and through a larger regional network.

Over the course of five years, project partners will provide carbon farming support to up to 73 producers, covering approximately 13,686 acres of agricultural land. The greenhouse gas benefits of the practices implemented through this project are estimated to be 253,613 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over 20 years. Partners will also conduct marketing, outreach, and educational efforts to build up a strong and sustainable market for commodities produced using climate-smart practices. Anchored in historic local conservation partnerships, the adaptive co-management approach of the project is designed to serve as a regional model for coordinated climate-smart agriculture implementation and to be scalable to any region in the state or country.

As the project lead, the County will oversee the project budget, manage reporting and tracking back to the funding agency, and oversee nine (9) sub-awardee agreements. The sub-awardees will focus on project implementation and will support with project reporting and tracking.