California Underserved and Small Producer (CUSP) Drought Relief Program

California Underserved and Small Producer (CUSP) Drought Relief Program is sponsored by Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). Offers drought relief grants to small and medium-scale California agricultural producers, including socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

2026 CUSP Drought Relief - Community Alliance with Family Farmers CUSP Drought Relief Funding The California Underserved and Small Producer (CUSP) Program is designed to facilitate support for small and medium scale California agricultural producers, or small and medium scale Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR’s) through technical assistance with business planning and financial and marketing strategies, and also provides direct farmer grants for drought relief for those same priority groups.

Application window opens July 1 and closes July 31 at 11:59 pm Agricultural producers must be farming in California (farm address has to be in California) Agricultural Producers must be grossing less than $400k or any dairy/ranching operation making up to $1,000,000 in annual sales Farmers can receive up to $20,000 in CUSP funding in a 12-month period, regardless of the granting organization(s) Click here for a list of other CUSP granting organizations Eligible producers may receive up to $20,000 in CUSP Drought Relief funds as well as up to $20,000 in CUSP Extreme Weather Relief funds (for a total of up to $40,000) within a 12-month period (from date of CDFA approval/verification) Scroll down for more application information and tips for a successful application!

Frequently Asked Questions General Information and Timeline Examples of Covered Expenses Application Information and Tips Can include but are not limited to: Increased electric utility bills of 30% or more due to increased electricity rates Surface water costs if increase from year prior Cost of hauling water for livestock or crops (due to drought, not due to business model) Lowering ag well pumps if a primary source of water is lost Emergency upgrades to irrigation system (paired with conservation) Decreased crop yields/crop loss due to less water available or having to fallow land Drilling of new wells or repairs on existing wells if sole source of water for operation.

Use of funds for upgrading to a larger pump that draws more water, up to 40 horsepower CUSP is a reimbursement-based grant, so farmers should be prepared to demonstrate that they’ve had increased costs, new expenses, or an unexpected decrease in gross revenue due to drought. Applications are mainly evaluated based on the quality of their “supporting documentation. Applicants *must* submit one document, and may submit up to three.

Applications are mainly evaluated based on the quality of their supporting documentation. Receipts and documentation for reimbursement can go back no further than 2017. Applicants must submit one document , and may submit up to three documents.

Good examples of effective documentation include: Profit & Loss/Schedule F statements comparing revenue from consecutive years Harvest or sales records comparing yields from consecutive years Notice from a Groundwater Sustainability Agency or other water utility company demonstrating a decrease in water supply or increase in water costs Receipts demonstrating increased costs for water infrastructure, such as a drip system, mulch or other materials to increase soil water-holding capacity Receipts from a water transport company Receipts for livestock feed Utility bills demonstrating increased electricity or water cost If possible, combine receipts/bills showing the same category of impact (e.g. water bills from successive months, profit & loss statements comparing multiple years, etc.).

Multiple documents can be merged into one file if you have more than 1 document in each category of impact/expenses. Check out this link for a video tutorial (in English and Spanish) on how to do that. A maximum file size of 15 MB (megabytes) is allowed per uploaded file.

CAFF’s grant process will be happening entirely in our online grant management system, Foundant . Foundant has its own library of tech help resources which can be accessed at: https://support. foundant.

com/hc/en-us/categories/1500001292601-Grant-Scholarship-Lifecycle-Manager See CAFF’s CUSP Frequently Asked Questions in English and Spanish , or check caff. org/relief for more information. English: Contact farmerfund@caff.

org or call Arden Rosenthal at (831) 291-5048 with any questions! Español: Contactar a ayuda@caff. org o al (831) 272-4032 Find awesome listings near you!