Monitoring Soil Health Impacts of CRP (NFO).pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO)

SUMMARY INFORMATION

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area

Funding Opportunity Title: Monitoring Soil Health Impacts of CRP

Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-FPAC-MULTI-CRP-20-NOFO0001030

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number (also known as Assistance Listing): 10.069

Funding Opportunity Announcement Summary

FPAC is announcing the availability of cooperative agreement funding to collect and analyze soil health data from at least 200 sites on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)-enrolled land reflecting a diversity of conditions for at least 3 years and to quantify the relationship between soil health and cover and practice management characteristics. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academic institutions are eligible to apply for the $500,000 of available funding.

Applications are due July 28, 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

Key Dates

Applications are due July 28, 2020.

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time. For technical issues with Grants.gov, please contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518- 4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts

The funding floor for this opportunity is $300,000 and the funding ceiling is $500,000. The funding floor means the minimum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. The ceiling is the maximum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The authorizing statutes and regulations for this opportunity are Sec 1242 Food Security Act as amended; 16 USC 3842.

mailto:support@grants.gov

The CRP is a Federally funded voluntary program that contracts with agricultural producers to convert marginal or environmentally sensitive cropland and pasture to a perennial cover of a mix of grasses, forbs, legumes, and/or trees for 10 to 15 years.1 Program participants receive annual payments, cost-share assistance, and sometimes additional incentives.

CRP generates significant conservation benefits: The program enhances soil health and effectively eliminates soil erosion on each acre enrolled. The enrollments also impact water quality and quantity by intercepting sediment and nutrient losses from upland fields before they reach surface waters and contributing to aquifer recharge. CRP restores critical habitat, such as prairie, wetlands, and longleaf pine, supporting waterfowl, songbird, and pollinator populations, along with other wildlife species.

The conservation benefits of CRP have been quantified by a number of studies. For example, Otto et al. (2018) have assessed how the amount of CRP on the landscape impacts honeybee health.2 The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (2018) investigated the influence of CRP on grassland bird populations in the Southern Great Plains.3 Swan, Easter, and Paustian (2018) reported on the estimated greenhouse gas reduction benefits of CRP in terms of increased carbon storage in soils and biomass.4

While the impact of CRP on soil health is acknowledged and may be considerable, it has not received the same attention to date as other benefits. Estimates of soil health benefits are neither available to fill out the comprehensive benefits picture of the program, nor to inform offer selection during the signup process so as to maximize program benefits.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity solicits proposals for an assessment project to address this data gap. The project involves monitoring soil health over multiple years on CRP enrollments across a range of stand ages, practices, plant diversity, and agronomic contexts.

In addition to CRP, this project will also inform a pilot program authorized by the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), the Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP).5 Similar to CRP, SHIPP is a voluntary program that takes marginal cropland out of production and instead establishes a perennial cover. In the case of SHIPP, the contract duration is 3-5 years. Participants plant the lowest practical cost conservation cover available to them on their least productive cropland in exchange for an annual payment. The assessed impact of select CRP enrollments will provide a defensible estimate of expected SHIPP enrollment impacts.

1 https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/conservation-reserve-program/index 2 https://www.pnas.org/content/115/29/7629 3 https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/EPAS/natural-resouces-analysis/Wildlife/pdfs/CRP_overlay_report_2018.pdf 4 https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/EPAS/natural-resouces-analysis/Multiple- Benefits/pdfs/CRP_Report_revised_7May2018.pdf 5 https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/fsa-shipp-factsheet.pdf

The objective of this study is to collect and analyze soil health data from a diverse sample of fields enrolled in CRP and use the results to estimate the relationship between soil health and grassland cover characteristics, such as species diversity.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to select at least 200 CRP-enrolled fields from which data are collected at least twice annually for 3-5 years. The sample of enrollments should be as representative of CRP, overall, as possible, while accounting for a diversity of growing conditions. While particular consideration should be paid to the Northern Great Plains, Southern Great Plains, Corn Belt, and the Pacific Northwest/Great Basin regions, additional sites from other regions may be included in the assessment. A stratified sampling approach may be undertaken within each region to facilitate monitoring.

The sample shall include land enrolled for at least 3 years in the following large-block grassland conservation practices (CP):

• CP1: Introduced grasses,

• CP2: Native grasses,

• CP4D: Permanent wildlife habitat,

• CP10: Existing Grass,

• CP25: Rare and declining habitat,

• CP38: State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE), and

• CP42: Pollinator habitat.

Monitoring sites in the sample must be paired with an adjoining cropped field (preferably on the same operation) as a reference site. Since the study sites include cropland (and are not limited to enrolled land), landowner participation is voluntary and landowner cooperation must be obtained.

Monitoring sites lost due to contract expiration in study years after the initial study year shall be replaced by additional sites.

The soil health monitoring protocol shall reflect USDA soil sampling and testing guidelines:

• In-field assessments must include the State-approved in-field soil health assessment, based on the National In-field Assessment Template (NB 450-20-02), for each conservation management unit.

• Laboratory soil health assessments must include the following set of indicators according to methods in Technical Note 450-03: soil organic carbon (ppm), aggregate stability (%), bioavailable nitrogen (mg/g dry weight), respiration (mg CO2/g dry weight) and active carbon (ppm).

• A comprehensive chemical soil test (pH, EC, organic matter, nitrate-N, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and boron) based on state-approved procedure is required.

• Measurements of bulk density and infiltration are also required. Standardized methods for data collection may be determined post-award through consultation with USDA experts.

Data on the age, type, and quality (e.g., species and structural diversity) of cover shall also be collected on enrolled fields, e.g., species and structural diversity, presence of bare soil, noxious species, shrubs/trees, forbs/legumes, pollinators, etc. Crop rotation and management data shall be collected for the paired reference sites. These data shall be used with the soil health data to quantitatively assess whether and the degree to which cover characteristics, practice managements, and environmental conditions affect soil health.

Lastly, yields and the impact on farm incomes shall be estimated under various alternative scenarios in which enrolled fields are returned to production.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Estimated Funding

The total amount of Federal funding the agency expects to award through this opportunity is $500,000

2. Start Dates and Performance Periods Projects may be between 3 and 5 years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on a project start date of September 15, 2020.

3. Type of Federal Award The agency plans to award a cooperative agreement pursuant to this opportunity.

The agency will be substantially involved in the work performed under the agreement, including such activities as monitoring site selection, program data provision, contacting landowners, and modeling the relationships between soil health, cover quality, and policy.

4. Number of Awards The agency expects to make one award.

5. Procurement Contracts

The agency does not expect to award procurement contracts associated with this opportunity.

6. Eligibility of Renewal or Supplemental Project Applications

Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are not eligible to compete with applications for new Federal awards. An application for renewal means an application submitted to continue an existing agreement that meets the objectives and requirements of this NFO. An application for supplementation of an existing project means an application to add components to an existing agreement so that it would meet the objectives and requirements in this NFO.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. 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 200.205(d)).

Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:

• 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

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

There is no cost sharing or matching requirement for this opportunity.

3. Other (if applicable) Any individual award made pursuant to this opportunity will be made to a single entity. Applicants that apply as “partnerships” or other similar groupings must clearly describe the relationship between the applicant and the “partner” parties.

In all but exceptional cases, it must be reflected in the award as an awardee/subawardee relationship.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

For technical issues with Grants.gov, please contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1- 800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

1. Address to Request Application Package All standard forms necessary for this opportunity announcement are included in the Grants.gov opportunity package. Applicants may request paper copies of materials by contacting Rich Iovanna at 202-720-5291 or by written request mailed to Rich Iovanna, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Mail Stop 0519, Washington DC 20250.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission http://www.grants.gov/

To be considered for funding under this opportunity, an application must contain:

a. Proposal

• A detailed workplan detailing the overall analytical approach, specific tasks, deliverables, and timeline.

• A detailed response to each of the evaluation criteria.

• The minimum number of monitoring sites, the number of years data will be collected, and the frequency of monitoring.

• A description of how monitoring sites will be selected.

• A description of the soil health metrics being assessed and the associated sampling and testing methods.

• A description of the cover quality, practice management, and environmental data being collected and how.

• A landowner/producer contact and communication plan.

• A description of the approach used to identify and quantify the relationships between soil health and cover characteristics, practice managements, and environmental factors.

• A description of the approach to estimate potential economic impacts of program participation when land is returned to production.

• Quality assurance plan.

• A description of the applicant’s relevant accomplishments and experience.

• Qualifications of personnel expected to perform key tasks.

The text of the proposal must be no smaller than 12-point font, must be a minimum of one-inch margins and must not exceed 10 pages.

Proposals that fail to comply with the required content and format will not be considered for funding. Material exceeding stated page limits and/or formatting structure will not be considered. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will not be considered.

b. Application Form: (Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance)

See Instructions for Completing SF 424 located in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity on Grants.gov.

c. Standard Form (SF) 424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs. Fill in all spaces as appropriate. Section B, Item 6, Column 1 should reflect the agency funds, and Column 2 should reflect any applicable applicant’s matching funds. This form is the summary budget for the project and should include the full project totals on pages one and two. See Instructions for Completing SF 424A located in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity on Grants.gov.

d. Budget Narrative. In a separate narrative titled “Budget Narrative”, explain and justify all requested budget items/costs. Detail how the totals on the SF-

424A were determined and demonstrate a clear connection between costs and the proposed project activities. For personnel salary costs, include the base-line salary figures and the estimates of time (as percentages) to be directly charged to the project. Describe any item that under the applicable Federal cost principles requires the agency’s approval and estimate its cost. See Instructions for Completing Budget Narrative located in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity on Grants.gov.

i. As required in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Subpart F Audit Requirements, all U.S. states, local governments, federally-recognized Indian tribal governments, and non-profit organizations expending $750,000 USD or more in Federal award funds in a fiscal year must submit a Single Audit report for that year through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System.

ii. All applicants are hereby notified of the following:

• Recipients without an approved indirect cost rate are prohibited from charging indirect costs to a Federal award. (Accepting the 10% de minimis rate as a condition of award constitutes establishing an approved rate.)

• Failure to establish an approved rate during the award period renders all costs otherwise allocable as indirect costs unallowable under the award.

• Recipients are prohibited from shifting unallowable indirect costs to another Federal award unless specifically authorized to do so by legislation.

e. Certification and Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. Under Title 31 of the United States Code, Section 1352, an applicant or recipient must not use any federally appropriated funds (both annually appropriated and continuing appropriations) or matching funds under a grant or cooperative agreement award to pay any person for lobbying in connection with the award. Lobbying is defined as influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress connection with the award. Submission of an application also represents the applicant’s certification of the statements in 2 CFR Part 418, Appendix A-Certification Regarding Lobbying. If you/your organization have/has made or agrees to make any payment using non-appropriated funds for lobbying in connection with this application AND the Federal share exceeds $100,000, you must also complete and submit the SF LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities located at 2 CFR 418, Appendix B.

See 2 CFR, Subpart 418.110 for more information on when additional submission of this form is required.

3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR §25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR §25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier (Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number) in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. The agency may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the agency is ready to make an award, it may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

Entities must obtain a DUNS and register in SAM prior to registering with Grants.gov. A description of each is below. Entities are strongly encouraged to apply early for their DUNS number and SAM registration.

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number: A Dun and Bradstreet DUNS number is a unique, nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for identifying and keeping track of over 70 million businesses worldwide. Applicants must obtain a DUNS number.

Information on how to obtain a DUNS number can be found at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform or by calling 1-866-705-5711.

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: SAM is the official Federal system that consolidated the capabilities of Central Contractor Registry, Federal Agency Registration, Online Representations and Certifications Application, and Excluded Parties List System. To register, go to: https://www.sam.gov. The Federal Service Desk is available for registration assistance, and can be contacted via the Help tab at the website listed above.

Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding DUNS or SAM issues.

4. Submission Dates and Times

Applicants must submit applications via Grants.gov. Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on July 28, 2020. Late submissions will not be reviewed or considered. The agency will rely on system generated date and time receipt documentation to determine whether applications meet the https://www.sam.gov/ submission deadline. Grants.gov provides and automatic acknowledgement when applications are received.

5. Intergovernmental Review This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

6. Funding Restrictions Funds may not be used to pay any of the following costs unless otherwise permitted by law, or approved in writing by the Authorized Departmental Officer in advance of incurring such costs:

• Costs above the amount of funds authorized for the project:

• Costs incurred prior to the effective date of the grant;

• Costs which lie outside the scope of the approved project and amendments thereto;

• Entertainment costs, regardless of their apparent relationship to project objectives;

• Compensation for injuries to persons, or damage to property arising out of project activities;

• Consulting services performed by a Federal employee during official duty hours when such consulting services result in the payment of additional compensation to the employee; and

• Renovation or refurbishment of research or related spaces, the purchase or installation of fixed equipment in such spaces, and the planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or construction of buildings or facilities.

• Management fees and profit.

This list is not exhaustive. Questions regarding the allowances of particular items of cost should be directed to the administrative contact person listed in this opportunity announcement.

Indirect costs limitations:

a. A non-profit organization or institution of higher education awarded a cooperative agreement will be limited to a 10% indirect cost rate in accordance with the Agency’s annual appropriations act. Other types of entities are not subject to this statutory limitation.

b. To be eligible to recover any indirect cost under a Federal award, recipients must either 1) have a current negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) with a Federal agency that has not expired; or 2) qualify for use of the de minimis rate authorized by 2 CFR 200.414(f). In order to qualify for the de minimis rate, the recipient must have never had a NICRA. A State, local, or tribal governmental department or agency unit that receives more than $35 million in direct Federal funding is not eligible for the de minimis rate.

c. Applicants not subject to a statutory limitation, which have a current NICRA must calculate indirect costs using the rate and base specified in their NICRA.

A recipient may voluntarily reduce or waive recovery of indirect costs at its sole discretion and must not be encouraged or coerced in any way to do so by the agency. If voluntarily reduced or waived, the recipient may choose to apply any unrecovered indirect costs as part of their cost share or match.

Unrecovered indirect cost means the difference between the amount charged to the Federal award and the amount which could have been charged to the Federal award under the recipient's approved negotiated indirect cost rate (2 CFR 200.306(c)). A copy of the applicant’s current NICRA must be provided with the application. Indirect costs may not be recovered under an expired NICRA. However, if an applicant with a current NICRA is subject to the statutory limitation, indirect costs must be calculated as follows. First, multiply the NICRA rate by the base stated in the NICRA to arrive at Amount A. Next, multiply the statutory limit of 10% by the total of all direct costs to arrive at Amount B. The lower of Amount A and B is the amount of indirect cost to include on the budget.

d. Entities that are eligible for the de minimis rate who already have a de minimis rate agreement must use the rate and base specified in the agreement, which is modified total direct costs (MTDC) as defined by 2 CFR 200.68 and also excluding the amount of each subaward exceeding $25,000. Note that MTDC excludes certain costs from the base to which the rate is applied. A copy of the applicant’s de minimis rate agreement must be provided with the application. If a recipient is eligible to use the de minimis rate, but does not have a de minimis rate agreement, use an indirect cost rate of no more than 10% of MTDC when preparing the budget. If selected for award, a de minimis rate agreement will be executed along with the award.

e. Profit is not an eligible project cost. Therefore, any funds awarded to for-profit entities must be used for reimbursement of award related direct and indirect costs only.

f. Applicants who are individuals applying for funds separate from a business or non-profit organization he/she may operate are not eligible to charge indirect costs to their award. If you are an individual applying for funding, do not include any indirect costs in your proposed budget.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Merit/Technical Criteria

a. Number of monitoring sites.

b. The diversity of monitoring sites in terms of practice/cover and agronomic conditions.

c. Frequency of data collection.

d. Rigor and comprehensiveness of the soil sampling and testing.

e. Expertise of investigators.

2. Risk Criteria

The awarding agency will check SAM to ensure the applicant is not suspended or debarred, which would preclude receiving an award. In addition, prior to making a Federal award with a total Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000), the agency must review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (the Federal Awardee Performance Integrity Information System, FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313 and 2 CFR 200.205(a)).

To further comply with the requirements at 2 CFR 200.205, the agency has established the following risk review process and related standards that an applicant must meet to be considered for award:

a. Financial Stability. The applicant certifies that it maintains adequate financial resources or cash flow to meet its financial obligations on a routine basis and successfully complete any agreement it may be awarded.

b. Quality of Management Systems and Ability to meet Management Standards prescribed in 2 CFR Part 200. The applicant certifies it has a financial management system adequate to segregate and track federal funds. It further certifies is has adequate systems in place for proper agreement administration;

compliance with the standards outlined in 2 CFR Part 200 Section D for procurement, property, and records management; and required financial and performance reporting.

c. History of Performance. If the applicant has previously obtained Federal financial assistance award, it certifies that it has never failed to materially comply with the Federal award terms and conditions and further that it has never had an award terminated on that basis.

Submission of an application constitutes certification that an applicant meets these standards.

3. Review and Selection Process Applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete, noncompliant, and/or applications not meeting the formatting criteria will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. The agency intends to make a selection and award without conducting any discussions or allowing applicants to correct deficiencies or omissions in their applications.

Consequently, they must ensure their applications are complete and accurate.

However, while the agency intends to make a selection without contacting applicants, it reserves the right to request applicants to revise their applications to correct deficiencies or omissions identified by the awarding agency. If this is done, the agency will conduct discussions with all applicants and identify deficiencies and omissions and give applicants and opportunity to submit a revised application by a common cut-off date. The agency may also contact individual applicants to clarify certain components of their application.

Merit/technical reviews will be conducted by a technical review board nominated by the approving official. Risk reviews will be conducted by the FPAC Business Center, Grants and Agreements Division. The approving official will make the final award decisions. The approving official for this opportunity is the Director of the Economic and Policy Analysis Division, FPAC-BC.

4. Awards Over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (if applicable)

Notice to applicants:

a. Prior to making a Federal award with a total Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000), the agency must review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (the Federal Awardee Performance Integrity Information System, FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313 and 2 CFR 200.205(a));

b. An applicant may review information in FAPIIS accessible through SAM and comment on any information about it that a Federal awarding agency previously entered;

c. The agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2 CFR 200.205, Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.

5. Anticipated Selection Announcement and Federal Award Dates

The agency anticipates announcing or notifying successful and unsuccessful applicants by August 5th, 2020 and expects to have Federal awards in place by Sept 30, 2020.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices

The agency will provide notice that an application has been selected before it actually makes the Federal award. As such, the selection notification is not an authorization to begin performance. Any pre-award costs incurred by the awardee will not be reimbursed. The Notice of Grant and Agreement Award (ADS-093) signed by the authorized agency representative is the only authorizing document, and will be provided electronically to the entity’s authorized representative for signature.

Both successful and unsuccessful applicants with be notified of the award decision via letter.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

All project funds will be used in accordance with 2 CFR 200 and the General Terms and Conditions; a copy of the General Terms and Conditions may be obtained by contacting the Federal Awarding Agency Contacts listed in this opportunity announcement.

3. Reporting Reporting will follow the guidelines included in the General Terms and Conditions but will generally include electronic submission of semiannual progress reports, quarterly financial status reports, and final reports.

If the Federal share of any agreement awarded under this opportunity notice may include more than $500,000 over the period of performance, recipients must also comply with the post award reporting requirements reflected in Appendix XII of 2 CFR Part 200 —Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

Applicants that receive awards pursuant to this opportunity and any sub awardees must comply with the reporting requirements described at 2 CFR Part 170, unless an exception applies. Applicants must ensure they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with those requirements. A list of exceptions can be found at 2 CFR 170.110(b).

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT(S)

For questions regarding this -opportunity, please contact one of the following individuals:

Administrative Contact (Primary Contact) Name: Sundii Johnson Grants Management Specialist FPAC Business Center Mailing Address: 1400 Independence Ave SW, Mail Stop 0519, Washington DC 20250 Phone Number: 202-720-5265 Email: Sundii.Johnson@usda.gov

Program Contact Name: Richard Iovanna Senior Agricultural Economist FPAC Business Center

Mailing Address: 1400 Independence Ave SW, Mail Stop 0519, Washington DC 20250 Phone Number: 202-720-5291 Email: rich.iovanna@usda.gov

H. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Questions regarding this opportunity must be submitted to the Administrative Contact identified above via email with the Opportunity Number in the subject line.

Questions must be submitted by July 6th, 2020. A questions and answers document addressing all questions will be posted to the Related Documents tab of this opportunity in Grants.gov by July 13, 2020.

2. For technical issues with Grants.gov, please contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at

1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

3. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Applications are considered confidential information. Applications are not shared with individuals or entities seeking public disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) without the consent of the applicant. More specifically, Executive Order 12600 and USDA FOIA regulation 7 CFR Part 1, Subpart A requires the awarding agency to provide notice to applicants that a third party has requested copies of their business information, and requires the awarding agency to consult with applicants regarding the releasing their records.

4. Government Obligation

The Federal Government is not obligated to make any Federal award as a result of this opportunity. Only authorized federal officials can bind the Federal Government to the expenditure of funds.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Non-Discrimination Statement In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.

To request a copy of the complaint form, call

(866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

https://www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer https://www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer