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Writer's pictureTom Kenny

USDA: Climate-Smart Commodities (Deadline First Funding Pool 5/6/22)

Updated: Apr 19, 2022

Opportunity Title: Partnerships for Climate-Smart Communities – Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities


Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-COMM-22-NOFO0001139


Description:

Up to approximately $1 billion will be made available for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects through this funding opportunity, which will build markets and invest in America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to strengthen U.S. rural and agricultural communities. Through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA will support the production and marketing of climate-smart commodities through a set of pilot projects that provide voluntary incentives through partners to producers and land owners, including early adopters, to:

a. implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands,

b. measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits associated with those practices, and

c. develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.


Grant agreements under this funding opportunity will be with a single entity, i.e., “partner”; however, USDA encourages multiple partners to coordinate on projects. A range of public and private entities are eligible to apply, as described in Section C of the Full Announcement which can be found in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity.


Proposals must provide a plan to pilot implementation of climate-smart agriculture and/or forestry practices on a large-scale, including meaningful involvement of small or historically underserved producers, consistent with spirit of the Justice40 initiative; a quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification plan; and a plan to develop markets and promote climate-smart commodities generated as a result of project activities.


Funding will be provided through two funding pools.

Proposals in the first funding pool (requests for amounts from $5 million to $100 million per proposal) will be large-scale pilot projects that emphasize the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production and include direct, meaningful benefits to a representative cross-section of production agriculture, including small and/or historically underserved producers.

Proposals in the second funding pool (requests for amounts from $250,000 to $4,999,999 per proposal) are limited to particularly innovative pilot projects with an emphasis on

· enrollment of small and/or underserved producers and/or

· monitoring, reporting, and verification activities developed at minority-serving institutions.


All projects must be tied to the development of markets and promotion of climate-smart commodities. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a “climate-smart commodity” is an agricultural commodity that is produced using agricultural (farming, ranching, or forestry) practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. Markets for climate-smart commodities may include companies or processors sourcing climate-smart commodities to meet internal targets or other supply chain goals, biofuel and renewable energy markets, companies seeking to sell branded consumer products, or other opportunities that could provide a premium or additional revenue for participating producers and land owners.

Sufficient incentives to encourage producer participation, as well as, generation of verifiable greenhouse gas reductions and carbon sequestration are critical to project success and will be considered in the evaluation criteria.

Eligibility:

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Small businesses

State governments

Special district governments

County governments

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Private institutions of higher education

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

City or township governments

For profit organizations other than small businesses

Award Details:

Total Amount Available: Up to $1B

Maximum Award: $100M

Minimum Award: $250K


Submission Details:

Application Deadline:

First Funding Pool 5/6/22

Second Funding Pool 6/10/22



Grant Management Associates has years of experience with opportunities like this one. Contact us today for a consultation

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