AFT Releases Applications for Beef Grazing Network Champions
Multi-Year Effort Combines Grazing Management, Producer-Training and Peer Networking, Data Sharing, Market Development, and Producer-Led Coordination
(Washington, DC) American Farmland Trust (AFT) has released applications for experienced beef producers to serve as Grazing Champions in the Beef Grazing Network’s Beef Producer Economic Resilience Initiative, a multi-year effort to plan and implement grazing management, producer-training, data sharing, market development, and producer-led coordination. The project centers on producer-to-producer learning and collaboration, as they often learn best from peers who have successfully implemented similar changes, and possess an operational understanding of the challenges faced during practice adoption.
Approximately 80 Grazing Champions will support a total of at least 620 producers, or Network Graziers, across at least 10 Mid-Atlantic and Southern states, who will join the network in upcoming years. Grazing Champions are experienced beef producers not only ready to improve their own operations, but eager to share their expertise with participating Network Graziers. Grazing Champions will first plan, train, implement, and share outcomes from their own operations. They will also then share their practical experience and support others as they develop and implement grazing management plans, adopt eligible practices, and collaboratively explore, support, and coordinate network participants into action groups that achieve greater marketing power and value.
“Up until now, the market for sustainably produced U.S. beef has been relatively small and localized in comparison to conventionally produced beef products, but consumer demand is growing across all scales, from local and direct sales to restaurants and institutions, grocery chains, and larger regional and national markets,” said Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune, AFT National Climate and Soil Health Director. “Producers can transition to meet these market expectations, but accessing those opportunities often requires scale, consistency, trusted relationships, and documentation that can be difficult to achieve alone. AFT is bringing producers together through the Beef Grazing Network to learn from one another, strengthen grazing systems, improve soil health and resilience, and work collaboratively to access markets that are usually difficult to reach independently. By working together, producers can capture more of the value they create while building more resilient operations.”
Producers participating in the Beef Grazing Network will receive funding, training, technical assistance, peer-learning opportunities, and tools to support implementing grazing and other complementary practices to a common standard, and to coordinate access to markets that value these practices through producer-led networks. AFT intends to improve beef production through sound grazing practices, something that will directly benefit farmers.
"The foundation of quality beef begins beneath our feet,” said Sarah Morton of Cattle Run Farm in Ruckersville, Virginia. “Well-managed grazing systems improve soil health, increase forage productivity, and support animal well-being. Farmers can produce healthier livestock, strengthen their operations, and leave the land better for the next generation."
Other farmers have also experienced the benefits of grazing first-hand.
“Bringing livestock back onto our century-old farm, after generations of tillage, is one of the best decisions I've made,” said Darlene Goehringer of Pop’s Old Place in Hurlock, Maryland. “Through grazing, I've seen the soil change, the forage improve, and even the ground feel a little more forgiving under my feet."
AFT will award grants of $17,000 to producers who implement grazing practices and data collection on their own operations, and a Grazing Champion supplement averaging $39,400. AFT also expects to provide group training and virtual support as resources to help participants develop or update their own grazing management plans and meet standards. Additional benefits will include access to farm management software that will serve to document, measure, and gain insights about grazing practices. Producers will also obtain access to AFT technical assistance to implement grazing improvements, biochar application, soil sampling, enhanced marketing, and networking with fellow producers.
AFT anticipates a staged application process with reviews on a rolling basis after applications open on November 12, 2026. The application process will close on January 31, 2027, or earlier if all spots are filled sooner, so selected Grazing Champions can onboard together. Virtual training will begin in March-April 2027 with in-person regional training to take place in early summer 2027.
Graziers nationwide are grateful for the partnership and optimistic about the future.
“Staying afloat in the cattle industry requires constant attention to detail and continued innovation,” said Dan Glenn, Managing Director of Deep Grass Graziers in Fitzgerald, Georgia. “This requires a network of peer mentors, technical support, and strong self-analysis. We appreciate the private and public partners who help in this process.”
In July 2026, AFT’s Beef Grazing Network formally launched the Beef Producer Economic Resilience Initiative, part of USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers program. The $42-million project, with $30 million provided by NRCS, supports 700 beef producers across the Mid-Atlantic and South in their transition to profitable, resilient operations through sustainable grazing systems, reduced inputs and stronger market access. The network builds market power through producer-led mentorship, peer networking, and beef marketing groups, and is being implemented with support from producer leaders, technical partners, researchers, and market partners working together to strengthen the long-term viability of sustainable beef production.
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.
