Taranis launches service to guide farmers through USDA conservation grant process

Crop intelligence firm Taranis has launched a new service to help U.S. farmers apply for conservation grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program, called Taranis Conservation, is designed to streamline the application process for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

The initiative operates independently of the company’s core drone-based scouting platform, Taranis Intelligence, although both services may be used in tandem. Farmers do not need to be Taranis Intelligence customers to access the new program.

“A farmer can go into NRCS and sign up for the same programs that Taranis can help a farmer sign up for,” said Tom Buman, a conservation consultant for the company and former USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff member. “But farmers are reluctant to because oftentimes, they don’t know exactly what it entails. We take a cradle-to-grave approach in helping with that.”

Farmers begin the process by signing up through participating ag retailers and consulting with Taranis Conservation experts to identify practices that align with USDA requirements. The company handles the submission and follow-up for EQIP and CSP applications, and also supports implementation, reporting, and compliance.

Taranis charges a 20% fee based on the grant amount awarded. If no funding is secured, the service is free of charge.

“Our focus is always about profitability for the grower,” said Sarah Rang, Taranis’ marketing director. She added that the company believes the benefits of the program will outweigh both the service fee and the cost of its core platform.

Farmers already using Taranis Intelligence may benefit from data tools that can streamline the compliance and tracking requirements associated with USDA programs.

Katelyn Duffy, a farmer in southern Nebraska who participated in the program, described it as “very easy” and “headache-free.”

“It took a 15-minute phone call to learn about the farm — what we already do, what we are interested in implementing,” she said. “They provided ideas for us, and then we spent an hour on the phone discussing them… They put together a nice application form and submitted it to the NRCS on our behalf.”

As of publication, it remains uncertain how the current federal grant freeze may affect new EQIP and CSP applications.