Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making $43.1 million available this year for two national-level funding competitions that support community agriculture. Projects funded will strengthen the food supply chain and transform the food system to be fairer, more competitive, and more resilient.
This is the third year that USDA is offering these national funding opportunities through the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. Specifically, USDA is investing $10.2 million in new cooperative agreements to expand compost and food waste reduction efforts; and $14.2 million in new grants to support the development of community agriculture and innovative production projects.
“Investing in community agriculture innovations helps us build a fairer, more transparent food system and promote equity by increasing nutrition security and economic opportunity in underserved communities,” said Tom Watson, state conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Montana. “These projects will help our community agriculture producers create new, more affordable, and better local market options and help Montana’s communities produce fresh and healthy food locally, reducing food waste while building nutrient rich compost.”
Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements (CFWR): So far USDA has invested $3 million in community composting across the country. The $10.2 million to be awarded in 2022 will fund pilot projects that develop and implement strategies for municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.
Local governments may submit projects that do one or more of the following:
• generate compost
• provide access to compost to farmers
• reduce fertilizer use
• improve soil quality
• encourage waste management and permaculture business development
• increase rainwater absorption; reduce municipal food waste
• divert food waste from landfills
Priority will be given to projects that anticipate or demonstrate economic benefits, incorporate plans to make compost easily accessible to farming operations of all sizes, including community gardeners, integrate other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts and collaborate with multiple partners. Projects should span two years.
Applications for CFWR cooperative agreements are due Sept. 1, 2022, on grants.gov under funding opportunity number USDA-NRCS-NHQ-CFWR-22-NOFO0001179.
Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) Grants: UAIP grants have already provided more than $7.5 million focused on food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers, and development of policies related to zoning and other needs. The $14.2 million to be awarded in 2022 will support the development of community agriculture and innovative production projects through:
Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of community and suburban farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders to target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers, urban forestry, and policies related to zoning and other needs of community food production.
Implementation Projects that accelerate community, urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers and improve local food access. They may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, education and community farming policy implementation.
Applications for UAIP grants are due Aug. 2, 2022, on grants.gov under funding opportunity number USDA-NRCS-UAIP-22-NOFO0001178.
How to Apply for Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Submit applications via grants.gov for Composting and Food Waste Competitive Agreements and UAIP grants. Pre-recorded webinars on the purpose, project types, eligibility, and basic requirements for submitting applications will be posted at usda.gov/urban. Email UrbanAgriculture@usda.gov with any questions.
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