Environmental Initiative

Are you trying to enroll farmers or ranchers into conservation programs in the Upper Midwest? Environmental Initiative and Trust In Food™ specialize in regional and local producer engagement, helping you design outreach that reflects the farmers and ranchers you're trying to reach.

Our campaign in North and South Dakota was built on that foundation, influencing ranchers managing 272,374 acres to download written grazing management plan templates.

If your grant proposal requires on-the-ground engagement in the Midwest or Great Plains, we'd like to talk. Contact Deborah Carter McCoy at [email protected] to set up a 30-minute call.

After an event celebrating our first 1,000 repairs last week, Project Clean Air Repair (CAR) is back to work providing free emissions repairs that support more efficient vehicles and cleaner air for Minnesotans. In collaboration with our funding partners and local repair shops, we are already making progress toward our next 1,000 repairs and our goal to eliminate 100 tons of emissions.

We continue to welcome funding partners to join us in delivering the benefits of Project CAR to local communities. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Want to learn more about Project CAR and the road to our first 1,000 repairs? https://buff.ly/xiiTc10

From one garage to 1,000 repairs: Project CAR hits milestone Project Clean Air Repair (CAR) recently completed its 1,000th vehicle emissions system repair! Over nine years, Project CAR has grown into a statewide initiative, eliminating 55 tons of ozone-forming emissions while supporting reliable transportation for Minnesota communities.

Environmental Initiative is hiring a Finance Director to lead our financial strategy, planning, and budgeting. Full-time, salary range $85,000–$95,000, starting late this fall.

Applications received by Sept. 8 will receive priority consideration. Details and how to apply: https://buff.ly/jT6W6sl

Do you know a teen in Minneapolis who cares about the environment and their community?

The Roots Rising Action Council is now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 program year. It's a paid, year-long leadership program for youth in grades 8-12, where participants learn about environmental justice and climate issues, build leadership skills and confidence, and explore careers through field trips, job shadowing, and guest speakers.

The council meets the second Saturday of each month from September 2026 to July 2027. Participants earn a monthly stipend up to $150 for a time commitment of 7-10 hours. If you know a young person who'd be a great fit, send this their way: https://buff.ly/wzdqas3

We convinced more than 90 ranchers in North and South Dakota to download a grazing management plan template in less than five months. 57 of them said they are writing a plan down for the first time. Our targeted, data-driven digital outreach made it possible.

Applying for grant funding to further conservation agriculture? Environmental Initiative and Trust In Food can bring full-service communications and outreach strategy to your project. Reach out to Deborah Carter McCoy at [email protected] to learn how you can include our services in your application.

We can help you develop a plan that will connect producers to your programs.

Congratulations to Tannie Eshenaur and Steve Robertson of the Minnesota Department of Health on their retirement from state service on August 3! Tannie and Steve helped establish the Source Water Protection Collaborative and have been steadfast advocates and funders for our source water work. Thank you both for everything you've done to protect Minnesota's drinking water. We wish you a retirement full of rest and relaxation.

What do ranchers in your area actually care about? Before we designed any outreach, we dug into the data to understand who we were talking to. That understanding allowed us to design outreach just for them.

Learn how you can use data to meet ranchers where they’re at: https://buff.ly/RAKXeLJ

Want to apply this approach to your own outreach? Environmental Initiative offers workshops to help your team build that foundation. Contact Deborah Carter McCoy at [email protected] to learn more.

Transystems has been hauling sugar beets across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Idaho for more than 80 years, and their equipment runs hard through a demanding fall-to-spring season. A clean diesel upgrade through Project Green Fleet helped this family-owned business swap in cleaner, more efficient machines, phased in through multiple rounds of funding.

President Errol Rice shared how the upgrade cut emissions, reduced maintenance costs, and helped the company stay competitive during a tough stretch for commodity pricing. Read the full Q&A to see how it worked:

Modernizing the fleet without taking on all the risk: a Q&A with Errol Rice, President of Transystems For more than 80 years, Transystems has been loading and hauling sugar beets for Co-Op customers across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Idaho. When the opportunity came to modernize their fleet through a clean diesel upgrade program, they took it.