Texas  

The Texas Grazing Network, which started in 2024, provides the model for peer-to-peer learning and personalized on-ranch mentorships for the Resilient Grazing Network. AFT is proud to continue working with mentors and land stewards to achieve success on their land. We will continue working with land stewards in North, Central and South Texas and are expanding into the Texas Panhandle.  

Key Dates:  

• Jan. 31, 2027 – Land Steward Applications Due (those interested in participating as a land steward are encouraged to apply now – we may be able to begin mentorships with you if we have mentor availability).  

• Feb. 15, 2027 – Land Stewards matched with mentors, mentorships begin. 

State Lead: Evart Outlaw, Texas Grazing Network Senior Manager

Kansas  

Anticipated enrollment will occur in 2027. 

State Leads: Kinzie Reiss, Program & Communications Manager & Brandi McCoy, Kansas Grazing Specialist

Missouri  

Anticipated enrollment will occur in 2027. 

State Lead: Joel Tatum, Senior Specialist

Colorado 

Anticipated enrollment will occur in 2027. 

State Lead: Sarah Fulton-Smith, Texas Regional Director

Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, Washington)

Anticipated enrollment will occur in early 2028. Stay tuned for more information and reach out now to learn about other activities near you in the PNW.   

State Lead: Chantel Welch, PNW Deputy Director

Resilient Grazing Network Mentors

Experienced producer mentors provide trusted, peer-based support that help land stewards (i.e. mentees) understand and adopt regenerative grazing practices in the Resilient Grazing Network (RGN). Through ranch visits, technical assistance, grazing management planning, financial assistance navigation, practice verification, data collection, and peer learning activities, mentors help land stewards improve the resilience, productivity, and long-term viability of their ranches. RGN mentors will: 

• Serve as a trusted peer advisor to land stewards rather than a regulator. 

• Help land stewards adapt practices to their unique operational context. 

• Support long-term learning, confidence-building, and stewardship outcomes. 

• Assist AFT staff in land steward enrollment into RGN incentive programs, data collection, and verification of conservation practice implementation.  

Core Responsibilities

Provide Direct Technical Assistance (TA): Mentors provide personalized one-on-one support to land stewards through a mentorship relationship that formally lasts up to two years. Each land steward is provided up to 50 hours of TA which consists of four site visits to the land steward’s ranch, check-in calls with the land steward, and planning and documentation. The tasks and topic areas of TA required to satisfy objectives of RGN include: 

• Ranch Visits. Mentors visit land stewards’ ranches to best understand those operations, including infrastructure, resources, and conservation goals. Mentors provide recommendations and options to the land stewards for plans to accomplish those goals within the context of those operations. 

• In the first year of a mentorship, a mentor will conduct three site visits with the land steward, applying up to 40 hours of TA. In this first year, the mentor will assist a land steward in noteworthy program tasks including enrolling into RGN systems, identifying conservation and land stewardship goals, creating and implementing a grazing management plan.   

• In the second year of a mentorship, a mentor will conduct one site visit with the land steward, applying up to 10 hours of TA.   

• After each site visit, the mentor will provide follow-up support to the land steward. Follow-up support consists of a review of the site visit and what goals were discussed, the mentor’s recommendations to the land steward on next steps, open questions the mentor or land steward need to address, and plan for the next site visit (or concluding actions after a final site visit). 

• Check-in Phone Calls. Mentors will conduct a phone call with a land steward monthly between site visits. The intent is to discuss follow-up recommendations from previous site visits, go over open questions, identify and discuss any new challenges since last visit, and confirm a plan for next site visit. 

• Facilitate Program Enrollment: Support understanding of RGN program expectations and participation requirements. Assist AFT staff in ensuring land steward enrollment is completed in a timely manner and accurately. 

• Assist Land Steward in Creating a Grazing Management Plan (GMP). Guide land stewards in the creation of GMPs. conservation plans , or modifying existing plans that address their conservation and land stewardship goals. 

• Support Access to Financial Assistance: Help participants understand, navigate, and apply to conservation funding opportunities, such as EQIP, CSP, and other similar programs. 

• Assist with Data Collection and Reporting: Help record practices, acres impacted, monitoring activities, and required reporting. 

• Verify Practice Implementation: Document practices during site visits and submit observations and photos to AFT staff. 

Participate in Mentor Training: To prepare RGN mentors to conduct mentorships in accordance with program requirements, mentors will attend required trainings consisting of a single in-person training event, several live webinars, and several recorded sessions. Mentors are paid to attend training events (information below on compensation).  

• 2-day in-person training. Topics include what it is to be a mentor, train-the-trainer instruction on soil health and grazing management planning, and data collection and reporting requirement. (2 days or 15 hours) 

• Recorded sessions. Mentors watch recorded videos on the topic of conducting effective mentorships in the context of agricultural operations. (3 hours) 

• Live webinars: Mentors attend several live webinar sessions as a group to understand and discuss the RGN program and its requirements, conducting RGN mentorships, and best practices in mentoring and peer learning. (3-4 sessions, up to 8 hours) 

Mentor Compensation

Payment and Travel Expense Reimbursement. RGN mentors are paid for providing TA and attending training, and mentors are reimbursed for applicable travel expenses. 

• Mentors will receive $50 per hour of TA provided to land stewards, up to 50 hours over two years per land steward. TA includes time spent during a site visit, check-in calls, planning, research, and follow-up support. This amounts to ~$2500 per mentorship with up to 3-4 mentorships per cohort for a total of $7500 to $10,000 plus travel expenses over a two-year mentorship. 

• Mentors will receive $50 per hour of mentor training attendance. This includes time spent at the 2-day in-person mentor training event, online and recorded training sessions. ~$1300 plus travel expenses.  

Additional Incentives

Access to Additional Financial Assistance (FA) and Incentives. Eligible mentors may also enroll into RGN’s incentive programs to receive additional financial assistance and access to additional training and education opportunities. 

• If mentors are improving or expanding their grazing management, they may be eligible to enroll in the financial incentive and data collection program with Cultivo. See Land Steward page to understand requirements for enrollment. LINK.  

• If enrolled in Cultivo platform, mentors will also be eligible for the $2500 sign up bonus and the annual $2/ acre per year payment from Cultivo. They will also be eligible to apply for AFT’s microgrant program.  

• Mentors will be welcome at all training activities that are provided for land stewards including, field days, ranch tours, training workshops, webinars, and a Ranching for Profit 2-day Business Planning workshop.  

Support Provided to Mentors

• Guidance, ongoing support, consultation. and oversight from AFT Grazing Specialists throughout the two-year mentorship. 

• Access to TA and expertise from RGN program partners and AFT specialists.  

• Training from AFT and technical regional partners as described above.  

• Soil health field kits, technical resource toolkit and educational resources. 

Mentor Eligibility

Minimum Requirements. To be considered for an RGN mentor role, interested producers must meet the following criteria: 

• Active rancher or livestock producer. 

• Have a minimum of five years of grazing management experience, and at least three years implementing regenerative grazing principles. 

• Participate in mentor training (up to 26 hours). 

• Ability to work with three to four land stewards at a time and commit up to 20 hours per month out of your schedule. 

• Commitment to data entry, documentation, and program reporting. 

• Strong communication skills and the ability to follow through to effectively support land stewards. 

• Can be open-minded and respectful to other producers’ goals and provide advice applicable to unique context of other producers and their operations.  

Preferred Qualifications. These are not requirements but will be helpful in meeting RGN’s mentorship requirements. AFT will help mentors who need assistance in better understanding these topics. 

• Experience with USDA-NRCS EQIP, CSP, or other conservation financial assistance programs. 

• Prior experience developing Grazing Management Plans. 

• Demonstrated leadership within local agricultural networks. 

• Experience mentoring, teaching, coaching, or hosting educational events. 

• Strong understanding of soil health principles and adaptive grazing management. 

• Note that mentors are not required to have a minimum acreage requirement for their own ranch, but they may be asked to work with land stewards on large acreage operations. Mentors should be comfortable with grazing management on all sizes of ranches. 

Resilient Grazing Network Land Stewards

The Resilient Grazing Network (RGN) is a voluntary conservation and rancher mentorship program designed to help land stewards adopt, improve, or maintain regenerative grazing on their ranches while strengthening ecological resilience, operational efficiency, and long-term ranch viability. Participants receive mentorship, planning support, peer learning opportunities, financial incentives, and assistance accessing conservation funding. 

Benefits to Participation

Applying regenerative grazing principles within your context has the potential to improve forage quality and productivity, strengthen drought resilience and water retention, enhance grassland health and biodiversity, reduce erosion, improve soil health, and increase operational efficiency and long-term profitability. In addition, Land Stewards receive several financial, technical and community benefits by participating in RGN. 

Training & Peer Support

• One-on-one mentorship – Participate in mentorship from an experienced rancher that is matched with your needs to provide support in understanding grazing principles, setting goals, and troubleshooting how to apply those principles in your context. This may include up to 50 hours of individualized mentor guidance, including ranch visits, planning sessions, grazing plan development, follow-up consultations, and implementation guidance. 

• Peer Learning and Community Building – Join other network ranchers in opportunities to support and learn from each other, mentors, and other regional experts through activities in your region such as ranch tours, field days, workshops, learning circles, and virtual trainings.  

• Access to Technical Trainings – Gain access to many regionally specific training opportunities to deepen your knowledge of grazing principles, including Grazing Management Workshops, and a Ranching for Profit business training opportunity.  

• Soil health and monitoring support - Soil health assessments supported by mentors and AFT grazing specialists, and access to project-generated data and reports related to your operations. Option to join cohort of ranches that undergo more extensive soil testing to be used for Cultivo data model calibration. 

Financial Incentives

• One-time $2,500 sign-up bonus upon enrollment and execution of the participation agreement with Cultivo. 

• Annual payment of $2 per eligible acre for completing annual reporting requirements with Cultivo. 

• Additional incentive payments from AFT of up to $3,000 per land steward are available upon completion of mentorship milestones. 

• Eligibility to apply for implementation grants of up to $50,000 supporting fencing, water infrastructure, brush management, prescribed fire, grazing improvements, and other conservation practices. All land stewards are eligible to apply to the grant program, but funding is not guaranteed.  

• Receive support accessing USDA-NRCS EQIP, CSP, and other state and federal conservation funding opportunities that can provide cost-share payments for practice implementation, such as grazing management or prescribed grazing, fencing, water facilities, reseeding, removal of invasive species , and related practices. 

Participation & Eligibility Requirements

• Work with mentors and grazing specialists through one-on-one mentorship including ranch visits, goal setting, grazing or conservation planning, and ongoing communication. 

• Own, lease, or manage eligible grazing land and have legal authority to implement grazing management or infrastructure practices; ownership is not required if leased or managed land is eligible and the land steward has sufficient control – rancher holds the deed or a valid lease and has approval or authority to implement conservation practices. Public lands can be eligible.  

• The land must be actively grazed by beef cattle. Mixed herds are permitted, provided beef cattle are the primary enterprise. 

• Rancher must be willing to adopt or improve grazing management, ideally within 6 months of enrollment. In addition to grazing management, activities may include infrastructure installation (fencing and water), invasive Vegetation Removal, prescribed burns, seeding of grassland, wet meadow restoration 

• Complete an annual report and summary of project activities to remain eligible for annual payments. 

• Provide management information, assist with documentation of implemented practices (management or physical), and support required data collection and monitoring. 

• Develop, refine, or expand implementation of a Grazing Management Plan or conservation plan, as appropriate. 

• Allow reasonable access for approved monitoring, soil sampling, verification, or other assessment activities with advance notice and coordination with mentors.  

• Enroll eligible grazing acres. Land with >45° slope or > 60% canopy cover will be automatically removed from acres eligible for payments. Non-grazed croplands and standard wetlands are ineligible for enrollment. Minimum grazable acreage criteria may vary by state, region, and cohort goals. Land stewards will work with grazing specialists or mentors to establish eligible acres at the time of enrollment.  

• Land that was converted from one land-use type to another within the 20 years before enrollment is generally not eligible. This rule protects against enrolling land where a recent conversion, such as clearing native forests to create pasture or cropland, caused a loss of stored carbon or damaged the ecosystem. Exceptions include restoring cropland to grassland, land that cycles between pasture and crops, and clearing invasive woody plants. 

• Sign the Grasslands Resilience and Conservation Agreement, initiating a 5-year term. Ranchers may choose to exit the Agreement at any point, with 30-day notice. By signing the Agreement, the rancher provides free, prior, and informed consent granting corporate partners the right to report Project Environmental Attributes.  

• Participants must not sell, transfer, register, or double-claim the same environmental attributes generated through the project with another carbon, water, or ecosystem service program during the agreement term. If land stewards are currently enrolled in an ecosystem service payment program, such as payments for carbon credits, they are NOT eligible to participate.  

• Participants may concurrently enroll in Farm Bill programs such as EQIP or CSP. 

Land Steward Rights & Flexibility

• Signing the Grasslands Resilience and Conservation Agreement in no way affects ownership and control of your land. You remain free to buy, sell, lease, or mortgage your land without any interference. Project Environmental Attributes do not include land or real property rights, grazing rights, water allocations, water rights, mineral rights, voluntary governmental program incentives, organic certifications, grass-fed certifications, hormone-free certifications, humane certifications, non-GMO certifications, breed type, geographical labels, and/or operational permits. 

• You retain complete control over your land and daily operations and decide which project activities will be implemented. 

• Participants retain ownership of their ranch data and access to project-generated information related to their operations. Your data is used strictly for the purposes of assessing, measuring, monitoring, auditing, and verifying the project environmental attributes and issuing your payments. It is not sold to or shared with third-party marketers, insurance companies, or other agribusinesses. 

• The participation agreement may be terminated with notice by either party, and previously earned payments are retained if participation ends. 

• If a project activity fails due to weather or factors outside your control, the payment will be honored; your mentor or an AFT grazing specialist will work with you to adjust your plan for the next year. 

Microgrants will be available to some land stewards and eligible mentors. 

The grant program is designed to reduce financial barriers to practice implementation. Land stewards and mentors that are implementing new practices will be eligible to apply to a $1,000,000 competitive grant program administered by AFT’s Brighter Futures Fund grants team.  

The goal is to primarily fund management plan implementation for practices or costs that are not covered through state and federal FA programs such as: 

• perimeter fencing  

• producer cost share 

• to assist with expenses when applications to government cost share programs were denied.  

While there is not an upper limit on the amount that can be requested, the size of grants will likely vary from $15,000 to $50,000 to facilitate practice adoption at scale. 

Eligibility and application information coming in 2027!