The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, is seeking applications for 2023 Arkansas Technical Assistance Projects.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture
State: Arkansas
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/19/2023
Size of the Grant: $3,000,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 2023. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.
The Arkansas NRCS State Office, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from and opportunities to partner with likeminded natural resource conservation partners. The overall intent of this solicitation is to solicit partnerships to provide technical services that address the key conservation objectives and focus areas described further in this document.
Conservation partners are invited to apply for NRCS assistance with the following key conservation objectives and emphasis will be placed on projects that achieve at least one of the following:
- Promote public awareness of NRCS programs and further develop NRCS relationships with historically underserved agricultural producers or communities. Work should include engaging participants such as women agricultural producers, Veterans, minority producers, limited resource producers, beginning farmers, and/or any other historically underserved agricultural producers or communities and/or addressing program participation barriers.
- Facilitate the organization, advertisement, and delivery of training sessions which will result in participants being trained to become certified technical service providers to prepare soil health management plans, nutrient management plans, or other recognized conservation planning activities.
- Provide direct technical assistance to producers in Arkansas by conducting the following: on-site inventory/analysis, formulation of conservation alternatives, preparation of conservation plans, assistance with conservation practice survey, design, layout, checkout and/or implementation or support for farm bill program management.
Priority will be placed on projects impacting areas of high conservation planning/implementation demand.
- Provide direct technical assistance to producers in Arkansas by assisting with contract management and facilitating actions needed to bring farm bill contract into compliance. Priority will be placed on projects impacting areas of high conservation planning/implementation demand including the counties of; Searcy, Jackson, Lawrence, Izard, Phillips, Faulkner, Fulton, Desha, Cross, and Clay.
- Provide specialized/advanced direct technical assistance in support of soils dynamic properties projects for cropped soils, especially rice production. Work to include selected soil property analysis having the same soil series in different rice farming techniques along with non-farmed areas for comparison in support of climate smart agriculture.
- Promote public awareness of urban agriculture as related to NRCS programs. Specifically, promote public awareness of urban ag conservation practices such as high tunnels, micro irrigation, hydroponics, and vertical farming as well as providing direct technical assistance to small urban ag producers who need help getting started with NRCS. Promoting urban ag efforts as related to NRCS programs through outreach meetings and outreach materials.
- Promote and provide technical assistance for rice climate practices such as alternative wetting and drying under practice 449 – Irrigation Water Management. Provide detailed information to landowners and NRCS employees related to rice climate practices and the benefits related to decreasing greenhouse gas production in rice agriculture.
- Promote and provide technical assistance for healthy forest practices such as timber stand improvement and other practices to increase forest health and productivity which in turn increases carbon sequestration potential. Provide detailed information to landowners and NRCS employees related to forestry practices that increases carbon sequestration as related to global climate change.
- Promote and provide technical assistance for soil health and/or nutrient management practices as related to the positive effects on climate change. Provide detailed information to landowners and NRCS employees related to soil health and/or nutrient management practice benefits as related to global climate change.
- Promote and provide technical assistance for prescribed grazing and other practices as related to the positive effects on climate change. Provide detailed information to landowners and NRCS employees related to pasture conservation practice benefits as related to global climate change.
- Projects that provide technical services related to any of the following Arkansas State Resource Concerns may also be considered, through emphasis will be placed on projects addressing the specific elements outlined above in a-j.
- State Priority Resource Concerns:
- Water Quantity
- Water Quality
- Plant Health
- Soil Health
- Wildlife
Proposed projects must be performed in Arkansas.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Funding Amount: $3,000,000
- Maximum Funding Amount: $3,000,000
- Minimum Funding Amount: $25,000
- Projects may be between one and three years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of September 30, 2023
Eligible Applicants
Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- 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
- Small businesses
- Special district governments
- State governments
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
