Opportunity Title:
Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
Description:
USDA announced details of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities opportunity on February 7, 2022. Through this new program, USDA will finance partnerships to support the production and marketing of climate-smart commodities via a set of pilot projects lasting one to five years. Pilots will provide technical and financial assistance to producers who implement climate-smart practices on a voluntary basis on working lands; pilot innovative and cost-effective methods for quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas benefits; and market the resulting climate-smart commodities.
USDA will be inclusive of a wide cross-section of U.S. agriculture and forestry through this effort, including the meaningful inclusion of small and underserved producers and early adopters.
The design of this opportunity was informed by over 400 comments received in the Request for Information published in September 2021. Project funding for Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities will be made available through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Applicants should refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity for full details on application requirements, including USDA’s intended overarching and market expansion outcomes for this new program, which will help increase the competitive advantage of U.S. farmers, ranchers and forest landowners, including early adopters, both domestically and internationally.
Eligibility:
County, city or township governments, Special district governments, State governments, Small businesses, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations other than Federally recognized tribal governments, Nonprofits that have a 501(c)(3), Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3), Private institutions of higher education, and Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.
Total Amount Available:
First Funding Pool Proposals from $5 million to $100 million are in the first funding pool and should include 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.
Second Funding Pool Proposals from $250,000 to $4,999,999 are in the second funding pool and are limited to particularly innovative pilot projects. These projects should place an emphasis on:
Enrollment of small and/or underserved producers, and/or
Monitoring, reporting and verification activities developed at minority-serving institutions.
Application Deadline:
First Funding Pool – May 6, 2022, by 11:59 p.m. ET
Second Funding Pool – June 10, 2022, by 11:59 p.m. ET
Grant Management Associates has years of experience with opportunities like this one. Contact us today for a consultation.