The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) to administer the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) cooperative agreement.
Donor Name: Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA)
State: Nevada
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/29/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The overall goal of RFSI is to create better processing options for local and regional producers across specialty crops, dairy, grain (for food), and other sectors by targeting gaps and opportunities in the pandemic assistance, Food Systems Transformation programs, and existing USDA grant programs that support the agricultural supply chain. Nevada has received $2,214,973 for this program from USDA AMS. This amount is to be split to support the state through grant funding and technical support to help build resilience in the middle of the supply chain. This program aims to provide better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages; and create new and safe job opportunities. The NDA, in cooperation with USDA, will conduct a competitive solicitation to award approximately $1,200,000 in RFSI funds to projects that maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.
Projects should support infrastructure in the middle-of-the-supply-chain for Nevada food and farm businesses and other eligible entities. The food supply chain involves the following stages:
- Production
- Processing
- Aggregation and Distribution
- Markets and Consumers.
Types of Grants
There are two types of awards being offered with this funding, Infrastructure Grants and Simplified Equipment-Only Grants. Applicants are only eligible to receive one grant.
- Infrastructure Grants
- The minimum federal award amount for Infrastructure Grants is $100,000 and projects must be completed by May 24, 2027. An Infrastructure Grant applicant is required to contribute 50% of the total proposed project cost as a match to funding received, unless the applicant qualifies for reduced match. For historically underserved farmers, ranchers, or small businesses as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the required match is reduced to 25% of the total proposed project cost. Match may consist of cash match, in-kind contributions, or any combination thereof. Funds from other federal grant programs may not be used as match for RFSI grants.
- Simplified Equipment-Only Grant
- The Simplified Equipment-Only Grant is for on-site middle-of-the-supply-chain equipment. For example, an awardee can acquire a walk-in cooler or special purpose equipment. The minimum award amount for the Equipment-Only Grants is $10,000 and the maximum award amount is $100,000. There is no match required for the Equipment-Only Grants.
Funding Priorities
The funding priorities for Nevada have been established based on feedback from surveys, outreach, and previous data collection. The following priorities have been determined to support the State’s agricultural needs:
- Expanded capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and improved markets for producers, while following food safety protocols;
- Improvements to infrastructure on farms and within aggregation centers, including: coolers, dry storage areas, and produce wash/pack facilities;
- Construction of a new facility or new buildings at existing facilities;
- Equipment for processing and distribution businesses.
Eligible Criteria
Entities eligible for RFSI Grants are listed below:
- Agricultural producers or processors, or groups of agricultural producers and processors
- Nonprofit organizations operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
- Local government entities operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
- Tribal governments operating middle-of-the-supply-chain activities
- Institutions such as schools, universities, or hospitals bringing producers together to establish cooperative or shared infrastructure or to invest in equipment that will benefit multiple producers’ middle-of-the-supply-chain activities.
For more information, visit NDA.
