The US Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) recentlyannouncedthe availability of up to $ 40 million for nutrient direction projects funded through grant agreements , called RCPP Grants . Applications for RCPP Grants will be take until October 31 , 2022 . In this blog C. W. Post , NSAC provides backdrop on RCPP , highlights some Fiscal Year ( FY ) 2022 awards , and provides details on this new iteration of RCPP .
An eastern Iowa Fannie Farmer is better the land in an otherwise unproductive area by growing reddish clover and harvesting the seed for neighbors to use for cover version crop .
BackgroundThe Regional Conservation Partnership Program ( RCPP)brings the expertise of farmers , conservation and farm system , and state and local representation to economise thousands of acres of land across the land . This plan focuses on protect watersheds by promote soil health , well - pull off working farmland , and preservation recitation .
RCPP is different from other Union conservation programs in that labor must be undertaken as partnerships between a variety of stakeholder , including non - profit group , land trusts , landowners , and other groups . Through RCPP projects , farmers and landowners may receive payments from the formation leading the partnership rather than flat from the Natural Resources Conservation Service ( NRCS ) . The organizations that take part in the platform are expected to provide pregnant matching monetary resource for the project , include in - form services such as monitoring , conservation planning , and manufacturer help . Farmers who enter in the program will most often work with partner organizations rather than with NRCS direct .
RCPP projects intend to plow specific natural imagination concerns at a landscape painting weighing machine . This can include individual states , big region , or intact watersheds . These areas are known asCritical Conservation Areas ( CCAs ) . Some CCAs let in the Chesapeake Bay watershed , the Mississippi River Basin , the Prairie Grasslands part , and the Colorado River Basin , as well as others .
The Program in ActionSince RCPP ’s conception in 2014 , USDA has partnered with local and state units of government , non - profit organisation , and private sector actors to invest million in preservation task across the country . Projects have focus on wildlife conservation , dirt wellness , water character , and many other preservation antecedence . For FY 2022 , USDAawarded41 new partnership projects , totaling $ 197 million . For a full inclination of projects , visit thiswebsite .
Types of Funding OpportunitiesTraditionally , there have been two types of national funding announcements under RCPP : RCPP Classic and RCPP Alternative Funding Arrangements ( AFAs ) .
Alternative Funding Arrangements versus RCPP GrantsWith this latest funding announcement , NRCS is utilizingexisting authorityfor RCPP AFA prize to fund similarly structured projects via Duncan James Corrow Grant agreements or RCPP Grants . This is dissimilar from past AFA awards that were administered using programmatic partnership agreements and associated subsidiary agreements . What this means in practice is that applicant must demonstrate the power to amply administrate the awarded monetary resource ( e.g. , contract with producers ) . NRCS will not support this ingredient of projects fund in this competition .
This new financial backing opportunity maintains most of the other constituent of AFA rival and award . applier must still show that the labor they propose does not conform to inside an RCPP Classic challenger . Preference is still given to projects that :
RCPP Grants labor can last up to five days , and task can request funding amounts between $ 250,000 and $ 10 million over the living of the task .
cease Fiscal Year 2022After the 2018 Farm Bill , NRCS can enter into up to 15 AFAs or grant agreement per year . The AFA awards were already made in FY 2022 . This RCPP Grants competition will lend seven prize to meet the 15 projects ' annual pileus and spend down the remaining FY 2022 RCPP funds .
For this unique competition , only labor located inCCAswith body of water quality degradation identified as a Priority Resource Concern ( PRC ) are eligible . The Prairie Grasslands Region is the only CCA without this PRC . Further , this competition aims to fund projects with an denotative centering on ameliorate weewee lineament through nutrient direction . Successful project proposals will show familiarity with the NRCS590 Nutrient Managementpractice standard and associated practice monetary standard that bear upon nutrient management . If partners offer alternate nutrient management approach shot , the proposal of marriage must address any deviation from NRCS practice and methods , and proposals must treat the relative benefit in the projection area .
How to ApplyTo apply , practical app should besubmittedby October 31 , 2022 . The means anticipates attain proposal selection by January 2023 and promise completing undertaking negotiation and crap awards by June 1 , 2023 . These dates are projected and are subject to variety .
RCPP Grants disagree from other RCPP competition in that program are submitted throughgrants.gov . This is a significant alteration as RCPP covering are normally relegate through a unique program portal . Applicants will need toregister for a gants.gov accountand aSystem Award Management ( SAM ) accountand get a Unique Entity Identifier ( UEI ) fromSAM.gov .
For more information : Sustainable Agriculturesustainableagriculture.net
