$8 Million AGCWIP Program Opens Soon to Support Agriculture Water Quality Service Providers

Program Highlights Important Work of Act 64, Vermont's Clean Water Fund

VAAFM Celebrates 10-Years of Phosphorus Reductions

October 16, 2025 | Montpelier, VT - The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is pleased to announce an upcoming $8,000,000 in grant funding through the Agricultural Clean Water Initiative Program (AGCWIP) for local and regional partners to provide services for Vermont farms, supporting the improvement of water quality across the state.

Local and regional partners play a vital role in supporting implementation of conservation practices that achieve reductions in nutrient runoff from agricultural operations, providing connection between state and federal programs, and farmers. AGCWIP grants provide critical funding opportunities to strengthen organizations that provide education and outreach and technical assistance to Vermont farms.

"These are important long-term investments to improve water quality that support those who are working the land and providing us food." said Anson Tebbetts, Vermont's Secretary of Agriculture. "Our farmers have contributed greatly to reductions in phosphorus pollution over the last 10 years, and these grants are a contributor to that success."

Since 2017, AGCWIP grants have supported over 30 local and regional partners to expand and enhance education and outreach and technical assistance services to the agricultural community, contributing to increased trends in conservation on farms.

"While technical assistance offered through AGCWIP-funded programs is available to farms of all types and sizes, more than 80% of on-site assistance since 2020 has been directed to small farm operations," explained VAAFM Water Quality Assistant Director Nina Gage, "AGCWIP-supported programming offers critical assistance for Vermont's small farms, from nutrient and manure management to grazing system planning, fencing livestock out of water, and more."

Request for Proposals (RFP) will open in early November 2025. Eligible applicants include individuals, businesses, and organizations who work directly with Vermont farmers to support conservation efforts and improve water quality. For the complete RFP and additional information, please visit agriculture.vermont.gov/agricultural-clean-water-initiative-program.

Reflecting on 10 Years since Vermont's Clean Water Act

AGCWIP is made possible by the Clean Water Fund, developed as part of Vermont's Clean Water Act (Act 64), which was signed into law in 2015. Act 64 solidified rules and regulations to protect water quality in Vermont. For farms, the Required Agriculture Practices (RAPs) were revised-and the Clean Water Fund and Clean Water Board were both established.

VAAFM is celebrating the 10-year mark with a look back at the contributions of agriculture and our farmers to improved water quality around the state. We invite you to view the story map titled A Decade of Progress: 10 years since VT's Clean Water Act. This report was developed by VAAFM as part of a workforce development collaboration with the University of Vermont Rubenstein School for the Environment. The story map describes key events, accomplishments, and trends over the past decade in Vermont agricultural water quality.

Explore the story map by visiting agriculture.vermont.gov/10-years-vts-clean-water-act.

Provide Feedback on Vermont's State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2027 Draft Clean Water Budget

While a significant amount of progress has been made in the past decade, there is still work to do towards achieving Vermont's water quality goals. The public is encouraged to get involved by providing feedback on the draft SFY 2027 Clean Water Budget. There are multiple ways to participate and share feedback on the draft budget with the Clean Water Board including:

• Attend the public hearing in Montpelier on November 7, 2025, at 10:00 am at National Life, in the Davis Building or online through Microsoft Teams and provide a comment.

• Send written comment via email [email protected] with subject line "Clean Water Budget Comment". This is the recommended way to comment if you would like to send the Clean Water Board a quick note or let them know about clean water challenges that matter to you.

VAAFM staff are available to answer your questions about providing comments to the Clean Water Board. You can reach out to our team via email at [email protected] or call 802-828-2431.

**Attached Image: "With support through AGCWIP, technical assistance providers assess how to improve water quality, develop conservation plans to update farm practices, present those options to farmers, and provide support to secure funding and support project installation."