Deadline: 9-Feb-21
The Georgia NRCS, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from and opportunities to partner with like-minded natural resource conservation partners. The overall intent of this solicitation is to solicit partnerships to help enhance the implementation of key technical services and projects for the Fiscal Year 2021.
The objective of this Notice of Funding is to obtain Technical Services and Projects to enhance Conservation Technical Assistance and Farm Bill Program Delivery across Georgia.
Focus Areas
NRCS invites proposals that support the adoption of SHMS in the following areas:
- Economic/Financial case studies on successful Soil Health Management Systems across varied production systems that include quantifying on-site net profit and offsite impacts (e.g., soil erosion, nutrient losses, and water and air quality).
- Develop, demonstrate, inform, and promote design and implementation of Soil Health Management Systems that are location and production system appropriate, economically viable, and improve soil health (e.g., optimize nutrient availability, optimize productivity, control soil borne diseases, increase plant available water, increase resilience to extreme weather), including:
- Implementation strategies for feasible transition from degraded soils in varied production systems.
- Integration of livestock into existing cropping systems, including applicable technologies such as fencing and water system innovations.
- Innovative techniques and technologies that support the transition to more diverse cropping rotations and grazing systems.
- Optimal species mixes, seeding rates and seeding methods (e.g., inter-seeding, inter-cropping, frost-seeding) to enhance cover crop establishment/survival, as well as management and termination.
- Innovative approaches to incorporating cover crops in high intensity/high value cropping systems that address concerns such as delayed planting, pest issues, residue challenges and nitrogen availability challenges.
- Develop methods that support clients who are implementing SHMS such as:
- Addressing Nitrogen variability issues – research Nitrogen loss and runoff on a variety of land uses and landscapes in order to develop more specific Nitrogen recommendations.
- Fund Soil Organic Matter tests for clients who are implementing SHMS. This will reduce the financial burden of monitoring soil organic matter percentages on SHMS.
Funding Information
- The total amount of Federal funding the agency expects to award through this opportunity is $2.5 million.
- Projects may be between 1 and 4 years in duration.
- The agency expects to make 15 award(s).
- Award Ceiling: $600,000
- Award Floor: $25,000
Eligible Applicants
Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Eligible applicant type is determined by the implementing program statute. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program (2 CFR 200.206(d)).
Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- Independent school districts
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
- 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
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Special district governments
- State governments
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=330785