Just thought I would close the loop on this thread and let folks know we got our grant! A lot of things were cut, including the dumper loader that we considered necessary to make the work possible. Still, we are not going to turn down $17,000 of homestead Christmas!
This is a New Mexico Healthy Soils Grant. It is a great grant, and I encourage any New Mexicans with access to land (even rentals) to apply next year! Applications are open every year from Jan-March and the grant period runs from July 15 to the following year's September 30 -- so 14 months total. It is funded on a reimbursement basis.
Some things we got include a Ring of Fire biochar kiln, a 5-inch heavy-duty chipper shredder, a manual compost spreader, materials to build a Johnson-Su bioreactor, 9 tanks (three 500 gal, four 275 gal, two 55 gal), scythe, hoses, temporary fencing and temporary irrigation to get new plantings started, cover crop seed, native grass & wildflower seed, shrubs, ground cover plugs...
Without the dumper-loader to load and carry we will not be able to haul as much as otherwise, so we won't be able to mulch as big an area as we had hoped. Still, I think we can be strategic about finding areas that need treatment that also have enough dead trees right there, so we can cut and chip right there and not have to do so much hauling.
We also want to do what we can to get the best use out of the materials. That could mean inviting neighbors-in-need who heat 100% with wood and don't have trees on their land to come help us with the labor in exchange for the main trunk of those trees, and we can use the branches for chipping, mulching, and erosion control. In the areas closer to our house we are stockpiling our own trunks for heating.
Thanks again for all the input. Once day maybe we will be able to afford a small tractor... or at least an ATV or something to haul things off-road!
