The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) offers competitive grants to California dairy and livestock operations. The program's core mission aligns with environmental sustainability by funding non-digester manure management practices and technologies designed to achieve long-term methane emission reductions and maximize environmental benefits. This initiative is a strategic effort to address greenhouse gas emissions within the agricultural sector, focusing on reducing methane produced from volatile manure solids stored in wet, anaerobic conditions. The program's theory of change is that by supporting alternative manure management, it can directly mitigate a significant source of methane, thereby contributing to California's broader climate goals.
The primary target beneficiaries of AMMP are California farmers, ranchers, and California Native American Tribes who operate commercial dairy or livestock operations within the state. To be eligible, the project site must have current baseline manure management practices that include the anaerobic decomposition of volatile solids in a lagoon or similar liquid anaerobic environment. The impact goals are centered on quantifiable greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, achieved through various eligible project types. The program seeks to ensure that conditions leading to methane production currently exist, allowing for measurable reductions through AMMP-supported interventions.
AMMP prioritizes several project types, all aimed at reducing methane emissions. These include pasture-based management, such as converting non-pasture operations to pasture or increasing livestock grazing time. Alternative manure treatment and storage practices are also a key focus, encompassing the installation of compost bedded pack barns and slatted floor pit storage manure collection systems. Another priority is solid separation of manure solids before they enter wet/anaerobic environments, utilizing technologies like weeping walls, screens, presses, centrifuges, and advanced solid-liquid separation. The program also supports the conversion from flush to scrape manure collection systems, in conjunction with various manure treatment and/or storage practices.
Expected outcomes include significant methane emission reductions, improved manure management, and enhanced environmental benefits for California's agricultural sector. The program measures success by quantifying GHG emission reductions achieved through the implemented projects. Examples of manure treatment and storage practices that contribute to these outcomes include open and closed solar drying, forced evaporation, daily manure spreading, solid storage, and various composting methods (in-vessel, aerated static pile, intensive windrows, passive windrows, and aerated vermifiltration systems). Approximately $17.4 million is currently available for awards, with a grant duration of three years, aiming for a substantial, sustained impact on methane emissions. The award start date is June 1, 2025, and the end date is November 30, 2027, allowing for a structured implementation and measurement period to achieve the desired environmental results.
