WSDA Will Accept 24-25 CRP Applications Starting Next Month

The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Compost Reimbursement Program, better known as CRP, will soon accept another wave of applications for the 2024-2025. The Compost Reimbursement Program is a grant program that reimburses Washington farmers who purchase compost from certain commercial facilities in the state. CRP provides a financial incentive for applying compost onto agricultural land. In addition the program studies the impact of compost on soil quality and carbon storage.

All commercial Washington farmers are eligible for the program. Participating farms are eligible for 50% reimbursement on qualifying costs for compost purchases and associated transportation, equipment, and labor costs. Funding limits for participating farms vary based on farm size and proposed budgets. Participants must agree to conduct soil sampling before and for several years following the application of compost. Additionally, the compost must be purchased from an approved compost facility.

Applicants will be required to provide:

A Business UBI number
A Statewide Vendor Number
A quote from the compost facilities where the compost will be purchased
An estimated budget outlining all proposed costs

This application window will runs from Tuesday December 3rd through Thursday January 2nd. Tthe online application portal will be posted on the CRP website.

The Washington State Legislature instituted several changes to the program that take effect this year. These changes include prioritizing applications based on the presence of food-waste feedstocks in the compost to be purchased, as well as distributing reimbursement funding based on farm size. Additionally, compost may now be purchased from Washington compost facilities that either have a solid waste handling permit or are permit-exempt.

Learn more about the Compost Reimbursement Program on WSDA’s website.

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