Full Announcement_USDA-NRCS-COMM-22-NOFO0001139_unlocked version.pdf

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities

Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities

Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities National Funding Opportunity (NFO)

No. USDA-NRCS-COMM-22-NOFO0001139 https://usdafpacbc.servicenowservices.com/x_narns_gna_notice_of_funding_announcement_request.do?sys_id=6e2f486b1b748d1028d7ea4ce54bcb7b&sysparm_record_target=x_narns_gna_request&sysparm_record_row=68&sysparm_record_rows=71&sysparm_record_list=assigned_toDYNAMIC90d1921e5f510100a9ad2572f2b477fe%5EORDERBYnumber

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Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO)

SUMMARY INFORMATION

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS is part of the Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area (FPAC). FPAC encompasses NRCS, Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the FPAC Business Center.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Title: Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities – Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities

Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-COMM-22-NOFO0001139 Assistance Listing: This program is listed in the Assistance Listings on Sam.gov under 10.937 Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.

SAM is a web-based, government-wide application that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government's trading partners in support of the contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Summary Up to approximately $1 billion will be made available for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects through this funding opportunity, which will build markets and invest in America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to strengthen U.S. rural and agricultural communities. Through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA will support the production and marketing of climate-smart commodities through a set of pilot projects that provide voluntary incentives through partners to producers and land owners, including early adopters, to:

a. implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands,

b. measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits associated with those practices, and

c. develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.

Grant agreements under this funding opportunity will be with a single entity, i.e., “partner”;

however, USDA encourages multiple partners to coordinate on projects. A range of public and private entities are eligible to apply, as described in Section C.

Proposals must provide a plan to pilot implementation of climate-smart agriculture and/or forestry practices on a large-scale, including meaningful involvement of small or historically underserved producers, consistent with spirit of the Justice40 initiative; a quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification plan; and a plan to develop markets and promote climate-smart commodities generated as a result of project activities.

https://usdafpacbc.servicenowservices.com/x_narns_gna_notice_of_funding_announcement_request.do?sys_id=6e2f486b1b748d1028d7ea4ce54bcb7b&sysparm_record_target=x_narns_gna_request&sysparm_record_row=68&sysparm_record_rows=71&sysparm_record_list=assigned_toDYNAMIC90d1921e5f510100a9ad2572f2b477fe%5EORDERBYnumber https://sam.gov/content/home

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Funding will be provided through two funding pools.

Proposals in the first funding pool (requests for amounts from $5 million to $100 million per proposal) will be large-scale pilot projects that emphasize the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production and include direct, meaningful benefits to a representative cross-section of production agriculture, including small and/or historically underserved producers.

Proposals in the second funding pool (requests for amounts from $250,000 to $4,999,999 per proposal) are limited to particularly innovative pilot projects with an emphasis on

• enrollment of small and/or underserved producers and/or

• monitoring, reporting, and verification activities developed at minority-serving institutions.

All projects must be tied to the development of markets and promotion of climate-smart commodities. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a “climate-smart commodity” is an agricultural commodity that is produced using agricultural (farming, ranching, or forestry) practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. Markets for climate-smart commodities may include companies or processors sourcing climate-smart commodities to meet internal targets or other supply chain goals, biofuel and renewable energy markets, companies seeking to sell branded consumer products, or other opportunities that could provide a premium or additional revenue for participating producers and land owners.

Sufficient incentives to encourage producer participation, as well as, generation of verifiable greenhouse gas reductions and carbon sequestration are critical to project success and will be considered in the evaluation criteria.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on:

• April 8, 2022 for the first funding pool (proposals from $5 million to $100 million)

• May 27, 2022 for the second funding pool (proposals from $250,000 to $4,999,999).

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

For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.). Questions related to eligibility or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.

mailto:support@grants.gov

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Information on available webinars and other supporting information for this funding opportunity will be posted at: https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities

The agency anticipates making selections by Summer 2022 and expects to execute awards by September 30, 2022. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.

Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts

USDA intends to fund a diverse set of projects and will not discriminate based on size of the project. This funding opportunity will have two funding pools:

• The estimated funding floor for a given proposal in the first pool of applications is approximately $5 million, and the estimated funding ceiling is approximately $100 million.

• The estimated funding floor for a given proposal in the second pool of applications is approximately $250,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is approximately $4,999,999.

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. These numbers refer to the total agreement amount, not any specific budget period.

Federal Financial Assistance Training

The funding available through this NFO is Federal financial assistance. Grants 101 Training is highly recommended for those seeking knowledge about Federal financial assistance. The training is free and available to the public via https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/. It consists of five modules covering each of the following topics: 1) laws, regulations, and guidance; 2) financial assistance mechanisms; 3) uniform guidance on administrative requirements; 4) cost principles; and 5) risk management and single audit. USDA ‘s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) agencies also apply Federal financial assistance regulations to certain non-assistance awards (e.g., non-assistance cooperative agreements).

https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities

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Table of Contents

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Available Funding

2. Type of Award

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Other

3. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Information for New Users of Grants.gov

2. Electronic Application Package

3. Content and Form of Application Submission

4. Submission Dates and Times and Correspondence

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Indirect costs limitations

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Review and Selection Process

2. Merit/Technical Criteria

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

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT

H. OTHER INFORMATION

APPENDIX A - Instructions for Completing SF 424

APPENDIX B - Instructions for Completing SF 424A

APPENDIX C - Budget Narrative Guidance

APPENDIX D: Additional Application Requirements for Anaerobic Digester Projects

APPENDIX E – Digester Feasibility Study Components

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A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Legislative Authority The authority for this funding opportunity is the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714 et seq). This funding opportunity leverages the authorities under Section 5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act at 15 U.S.C. 714c with particular emphasis on the following subsection:

• “(e) increase the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities (other than tobacco) by expanding or aiding in the expansion of domestic markets or by developing or aiding in the development of new and additional markets, marketing facilities, and uses for such commodities.”

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Details

In response to the climate crisis, USDA is pursuing actions within the agriculture sector to support the production of climate-smart commodities. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a “climate-smart commodity” is defined as an agricultural commodity that is produced using agricultural (farming, ranching, or forestry) practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. Adoption of these practices can produce other associated environmental benefits. Through Partnerships, USDA will support a set of pilot projects that provide voluntary incentives through partners to producers and land owners, including early adopters, to:

• implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands;

• Measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits associated with those practices; and

• develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.

Goals of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities:

Intended Overarching Outcomes

As demonstrated in Executive Order (EO) 14008, tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad will require a whole-of-government approach, and agriculture and forestry play an important role in that strategy. USDA’s 90-day progress report on our Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) strategy emphasized that a successful CSAF strategy relies on a multi-pronged approach. Projects funded through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities will play an important role in that approach and will contribute to meeting the U.S. commitments to address climate change. The Partnerships aim to achieve the following outcomes through a variety of pilot projects:

• Increased markets (supply and demand) for climate-smart commodities;

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/climate-smart-ag-forestry-strategy-90-day-progress-report.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/climate-smart-ag-forestry-strategy-90-day-progress-report.pdf

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• Increased adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) practices and systems that reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and/or increase carbon sequestration from the agricultural sector;

• Demonstration of scalable and low-cost measurement/quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) systems;

• Increased innovation and consistency in measuring/quantifying farm-level GHG benefits;

• Testing and evaluation of efficient traceability through supply chains from production of commodity to delivery to the consumer;

• Improved understanding and communication of economic and adaptation benefits, as well as ancillary environmental benefits;

• Equitable administration that includes small and underserved producers as well as early adopters (i.e., producers who have already used some climate-smart approaches);

• Understanding of marketability advantages for a variety of farm types;

• Empowerment of farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners to drive CSAF markets and practice adoption; and

• Development of additional public-private partnerships to foster and develop CSAF markets.

Intended Market Expansion Outcomes

The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities seek to address the need for new and expanded markets for CSAF commodities, including helping:

• Standardize the definition of a CSAF commodity;

• Improve the quality and ability to verify GHG emissions reductions and carbon sequestration benefits associated with commodities produced using CSAF practices to inform future measurement and quantification standards;

• Reduce the potential for double counting of benefits;

• Reduce transaction costs;

• Increase understanding and awareness of climate-smart commodities among small and underserved producers and expand their participation;

• Increase the efficiency of supply chain traceability;

• Reduce the risk of market entry; and

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• Increase the competitive advantage of U.S. farmers, ranchers and forest land owners domestically and internationally.

Project Boundaries

The primary focus of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities pilot projects must be on-farm production of climate-smart commodities. Commodities must be produced using verifiable and quantifiable climate-smart practices (farming, ranching, or forestry). Climate-smart forest products are included, and applicants may propose and justify innovative forestry projects that generate climate-smart forestry commodities.

Projects must focus on verifiable on-farm (or forest) GHG emissions and carbon sequestration benefits. Federal funding under this funding opportunity must not be used for renting or purchasing land in the form of an easement or other device. Other reductions associated with processing, transportation, etc., throughout the agriculture and forestry supply chains are not the focus of this funding opportunity.

Partners with agreements under this funding opportunity must ensure that payments are not provided to a producer or land owner for the same production practice or system implementation on the same land for which the producer or land owner has already received, or is contracted to receive, funding through another USDA program.

Enhancements to existing practices may be funded as part of these pilot projects.

Specific ownership of GHG benefits shall be proposed by applicants (e.g., how GHG benefit ownership will be transferred through different parts of the supply chain). These chain-of-custody ownership clauses could be included, for example, in a) contracts between producers and project developers, and b) contracts between project developers and commodity purchasers.

Practices

Highly competitive projects will include agricultural and forestry practices or combinations of practices, and/or practice enhancements that provide GHG benefits and/or carbon sequestration. Practices may include but are not limited to the following:

• Cover crops

• Low-till or no-till

• Nutrient management

• Enhanced efficiency fertilizers

• Manure management

• Feed management to reduce enteric emissions

• Buffers, wetland, and grassland management, and tree planting on working lands

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• Agroforestry and afforestation on working lands

• Afforestation/reforestation and sustainable forest management

• Planting for high carbon sequestration rate

• Maintaining and improving forest soil quality

• Increase on-site carbon storage through Forest Stand Management

• Alternate wetting and drying on rice fields

• Climate-smart pasture practices, such as prescribed grazing or legume interceding

• Soil amendments, like biochar

Notes: All practices must demonstrate GHG benefits. Practices and enhancements to existing practices are not limited to those under existing USDA practice standards; however, compliance and reporting activities will likely be more complex for practices without existing standards. Projects may include digesters only in limited circumstances, with additional documentation; see notes in the Project Narrative section.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

1. Available Funding

a. Estimated Funding The Federal funding agency expects to award a total of approximately $1 billion through this opportunity.

b. Start Dates and Performance Periods Projects may be between 1 and 5 years in duration, with up to two years of no-cost extensions considered on a case-by-case basis. Anticipated start dates are Summer 2022.

Note: Projects must demonstrate project results on the ground within one year of the project start date.

c. Number of Awards USDA welcomes proposals from a range of funding sizes from $250,000 to $100 million; therefore, the number of awards under this announcement is difficult to predict. With this in mind, the agency expects to make approximately 30-50 awards, depending on proposals received.

2. Type of Award

a. Type of Federal Award USDA plans to award grant agreements pursuant to this opportunity. USDA will provide general oversight of the grant and reporting requirements. However, in

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 10 of 48 general, any on the ground technical assistance will need to be provided by the recipient (except for Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Compliance (WC) determinations). Recipients may only enroll agricultural producers and land owners who are compliant with HEL and WC requirements as described under 7 CFR part 12.

Procurement Contracts The agency does not expect to award procurement contracts associated with this

NFO.

b. 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.

USDA does reserve the right to renew or supplement awards under this NFO in the future with additional federal funding without further competition.

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 consistent with the statutory authority for this funding opportunity. 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 200.206(d)). This opportunity is open only to domestic applicants. The primary applicant must demonstrate an existing relationship with and/or prior experience working with producers or land owners. Additionally, at minimum one project partner must have existing experience working with underserved producers or land owners. This information will be used when evaluating the application in the equity criteria.

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

• County, city or township governments

• Special district governments

• State governments

• Small businesses

• For-profit organizations other than small businesses

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

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• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education)

• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education)

• Private institutions of higher education

• Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education.

The primary applicant/recipient must be an entity (not an individual). Commodity organizations, technical service provider organizations (including university extension), farming cooperatives, organizations representing historically underrepresented communities, local producers, micro-producers, forestry organizations and others are encouraged to apply. Individuals may also be eligible as subrecipients but may not be the primary applicant/recipient.

2. Other

Any award made pursuant to this NFO 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, this must be reflected in the award as an awardee/sub-awardee relationship.

An applicant organization may submit more than one application for different projects or propose different approaches to a particular project in separate applications. In the case of applications submitted as revisions or corrections to a previously submitted application under this NFO, the agency will consider the last application submitted prior to the established deadline.

Awards made pursuant to this NFO are not subject to any payment limitations.

However, any agricultural producers or land owners receiving a payment through participation in a project awarded under this NFO must meet the eligibility requirements of 7 CFR Part 12 and 7 CFR Part 1400 and have control of the land involved for the term of the proposed award period.

3. Cost Sharing or Matching

There is not a specific match requirement for this NFO. However, applications will be evaluated, in part, on the relative contribution of non-Federal resources to the project. Cost sharing may be achieved with contributions of cash, services, materials, equipment, or third-party in-kind contributions. USDA values the importance of partners contributing to projects; the magnitude and quality of matching funds will be a part of the evaluation criteria. However, this will be considered through the lens of equity so that the ability to secure a non-Federal match is not a barrier to participation. Refer to Section D of this NFO for information about any required submittals related to match or cost-share requirements. Refer to Section E for a description of how a voluntary match will be evaluated.

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While the pace of cost sharing/matching may vary throughout the award period, the agency will actively monitor cost sharing/matching levels as it receives payment requests to ensure the total cost sharing/matching requirement is met by the award period of performance end date. Additional details about cost sharing or matching funds/contributions are located at 2 CFR 200.306.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Information for New Users of Grants.gov

a. Overview

While a Grants.gov account is not required to download an NFO and related documents, it is required to submit an application. If your organization has never submitted an application via Grants.gov, please be aware that there are several steps you must take to register your organization before you can submit an application. Completing those steps can take a significant amount of time, so plan accordingly.

For information about the Grants.gov pre-award phase of the grant lifecycle, see https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101/pre-award-phase.html.

b. Register to Apply through Grants.gov

Carefully review the registration steps and gather information requested prior to beginning the registration process to avoid last-minute searches for required information. For assistance with the registration process, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Organizations must complete all steps to register (steps i. through v. below).

Complete organization instructions are included on Grants.gov here:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html.

Although creating a Grants.gov account online can take only minutes, SAM registrations may take several weeks. Therefore, organizations should begin the process early to ensure they have sufficient time to complete registration and meet required application submission deadlines.

Individuals are not subject to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)/DUNS or SAM requirement and may begin with step iii., Create a Grants.gov Account, listed below. (Note: Individuals are not eligible for all opportunities.)

c. Steps to Register https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101/pre-award-phase.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101/pre-award-phase.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html

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i. Obtain a DUNS Number or UEI: All entities applying for funding must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) or a UEI issued by SAM.gov. Applicants must enter the DUNS Number/UEI in the data entry field labeled "UEI" on the SF-424 form.

ii. Register with SAM: All organizations must register with System for Award Management (SAM) to apply online through Grants.gov. SAM registration must be renewed annually. Part of the SAM registration process includes designating an Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC). The EBiz POC plays an integral part in the organization’s Grants.gov registration and application process. The individual in that role must authorize all other roles in Grants.gov. For more detailed instructions for registering with SAM, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html

iii. Create a Grants.gov Account: From the Grants.gov webpage (https://www.grants.gov/), click “Register” in the top right-hand corner and follow the on-screen instructions or refer to the detailed instructions here https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html

iv. Add an Organization Applicant Profile to a Grants.gov Account: A profile in Grants.gov corresponds to a single applicant organization the user represents (i.e., an applicant) or an individual applicant. If you work for or consult with multiple organizations and have a profile for each, you may log in to one Grants.gov account to access all your grant applications. To add an organizational profile to your Grants.gov account, enter the DUNS Number/UEI for the organization in the UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) field while adding a profile. For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html

v. EBiz POC Authorized Profile Roles: After you register with Grants.gov and create an Organization Applicant Profile, you must establish roles for individuals in the organization. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) role is critical; it gives an individual permission to complete and submit applications on behalf of the organization. (Please be aware that the EBiz POC and the person with AOR Role cannot be the same individual; they must be different people.) Without this role, the organization cannot submit any applications. The request for role assignment will be routed to the organization’s EBiz POC for approval.

Once approved, the AOR can submit an application online. For more detailed instructions about creating a EBiz POC authorized profile on Grants.gov, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.html

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Track Role Status: To track your role request, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html

d. Electronic Signature

When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the organization applicant with the AOR role that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. Please be aware that the EBiz POC and the person with AOR Role cannot be the same individual; they must be different people. The EBiz POC must authorize people who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as a user with the AOR role. This step (step c.v. above) is often missed, and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.

e. Workspace.

Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different webforms within an application. For each NFO, you can create individual instances of a workspace. An applicant can start an application in Workspace and return to work on it later within Workspace.

f. Apply for an Opportunity

Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov. For complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

i. Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete an application online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

ii. Complete a Workspace: Add participants to the workspace to work on the application together, complete all the required forms online or by downloading PDF versions, and check for errors before submission. The Workspace progress bar will display the status of your application process as you apply. As you apply using Workspace, you may click the blue question mark icon near the upper-right corner of each page to access context-sensitive help.

• Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out webforms you can download individual PDF forms in Workspace. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through Adobe Reader.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

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NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

• Mandatory Fields in Forms: In the forms, you will note fields marked with an asterisk and a different background color. These fields are mandatory fields that must be completed to successfully submit your application.

• Complete SF-424 Fields First: The forms are designed to fill in common required fields across other forms, such as the applicant name, address, and DUNS Number/UEI. Once it is completed, the information will transfer (i.e., prepopulate) to the other forms.

iii. Submit a Workspace: An application may be submitted through workspace by clicking the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under the Forms tab. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.

iv. Track a Workspace Submission: After successfully submitting a workspace application, a Grants.gov Tracking Number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) is automatically assigned to the application. The number will be listed on the Confirmation page that is generated after submission. Using the tracking number, access the Track My Application page under the Applicants tab or the Details tab in the submitted workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

2. Electronic Application Package

Applicants interested in submitting an application in response to this NFO must submit it via Grants.gov; the agency will not accept applications submitted via email or any other method. Applicants are urged to submit early to the Grants.gov system.

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

Address to Request Application Package All information necessary to apply for this opportunity is included in the Grants.gov opportunity announcement.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html http://www.grants.gov/

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3. Content and Form of Application Submission

The agency may choose not to consider applications that fail to comply with the required content, format, and page limits, or those that are incomplete.

To be considered for funding under this opportunity, an application must contain the documents in paragraphs a-e, below.

a. Project Narrative

Each page must be numbered and have one-inch margins. The text of the project narrative must be single spaced and typed in a standard typeface (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Courier) with no smaller than 12-point font.

The project narrative must not exceed 15 pages. This page limitation applies to the project narrative only. Other application materials, such as budget details/narratives, resumes of staff, and support letters are not counted against this 15-page limit.

Proposals in the first funding pool (requesting from $5 million to $100 million) must include all of the following:

i. Executive Summary of Pilot Project, which includes at minimum a high level description of the project, the issues it is seeking to address and how the project will contribute to the goals in this funding opportunity, including:

A. Contact Information

B. List of Project Partners

C. List of underserved/minority-focused project partners

D. Compelling need for the project

E. Approach to minimize transaction costs associated with project activities

F. Approach to reduce producer barriers to implementing CSAF practices for the purpose of marketing climate-smart commodities

G. Geographic Focus

H. Project management capacity of partners, including a description of existing relationship with and/or prior experience working with producers or land owners, promoting climate-smart activities and marketing climate-smart commodities.

ii. A plan to pilot climate-smart agriculture and/or forestry practices on a large scale, including:

A. A description of CSAF practices to be deployed, Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 17 of 48

B. Plan to recruit producers and land owners, including estimated scale of the project (e.g., number of land owners, acres targeted, head of livestock, etc.)

C. Plan to provide technical assistance, outreach, and training, including who will be conducting these activities, qualifications and projected timeline, D. Plan to provide financial assistance for producers/land owners to implement CSAF practices, and

E. Plan to enroll underserved and small producers, including estimated number of underserved and small producers participating and associated dollar amounts anticipated to go directly to producers, in the form of technical and financial assistance.

Note: Under the first funding pool, projects may include digesters as part of a broader project working with producers and land owners to implement climate-smart practices, but the planning for, materials for, and construction of digester(s) will not be funded through this funding opportunity under this funding pool. Applications NOT requesting funding for digesters as part of the project are not required to complete Appendix D and Appendix E.

iii. A measurement/quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification plan, including:

A. Approach to greenhouse gas benefit quantification, including methodology approach consistent with the section titled “Quantification Requirements“ below, B. Approach to monitoring of practice implementation, including the anticipated number of farms and acres reached through project activities, C. Approach to reporting and tracking of greenhouse gas benefits including the anticipated GHG benefits per farm, per project, per commodity produced, per dollar expended, and the anticipated longevity of GHG benefits, D. Approach to verification of greenhouse gas benefits, and

E. Agreement to participate in the Partnerships Network (see entry below in “Considerations for Successful Projects”).

Note: Applicants must describe how they will track GHG benefits through the supply chain. This funding opportunity is focused on projects that generate climate-smart commodities, and not on projects that focus on generating carbon offsets. Projects may investigate systems that track GHG benefits associated with both climate-smart commodities and carbon offsets. Applicants may consider approaches where the climate-smart activities could generate

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 18 of 48 carbon offsets; however, applicants should ensure there is not double-counting of climate benefits entering commodity supply chains and the benefits being used to generate carbon offsets. Applicants must define how GHG benefit ownership will be transferred through different parts of the supply chain; and double counting will be avoided. Applicants will also have to attest that producers and land owners will not be involved in multiple USDA programs that fund the same practice on the same land . Federal funds under this funding opportunity may not be used to pay for implementation of the same practice on the same land, but funding may be used to enhance a practice or to further incentivize the climate-smart commodity generated, especially with respect to early adopters.

iv. A plan to develop and expand markets for climate-smart commodities generated as a result of project activities, including:

A. Any partnerships designed to market resulting climate-smart commodities, B. A plan to track climate-smart commodities through the supply chain, if appropriate, C. Estimated economic benefits for participating producers including market returns, and

D. Post-project potential, including anticipated ability to scale project activities, likelihood of long-term viability beyond project period, and ability to inform future USDA actions to encourage climate-smart commodities.

Proposals in the second funding pool (requesting from $250,000 to $4,999,999) are limited to particularly innovative pilot projects with a focus on:

• enrollment of small and/or underserved producers, and/or

• monitoring, reporting, and verification activities at minority serving institutions.

Proposals in the second funding pool are also encouraged to include plans for all of the elements listed above for the first funding pool. However, USDA recognizes that projects of this size may face limitations in the capacity to execute on all elements and will take these limitations into account during project evaluation.

Note: Under the second funding pool, digesters may be funded as a part of a project to help fund proving out technologies and building infrastructure on farm. Large digesters with high capital costs should plan to leverage other innovative financing as part of their applications.

Small-scale digesters that can build off manure management strategies (e.g., covered lagoons that can be converted) and community digesters where one system serves multiple farms may be included. Funding for the digester(s) when combined with other sources may

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 48 not exceed the cost of the digester(s). Applications requesting funding for digesters as part of the project MUST complete Appendix D and Appendix E, which include additional requirements and a feasibility study to be conducted by an outside consultant. All projects that incorporate digesters must include provisions for pollution and pathogen mitigation.

Considerations for Successful Projects

All projects must be tied to the development of markets and promotion of climate-smart commodities. Markets for climate-smart commodities may include companies or processors sourcing climate-smart commodities to meet internal targets or other supply chain goals, biofuel and renewable energy markets, companies seeking to sell branded consumer products, or other opportunities that could provide a premium or additional revenue for participating producers and land owners.

Sufficient incentives to encourage producer participation, as well as, generation of verifiable greenhouse gas reductions and carbon sequestration are critical to project success and will be considered in the evaluation criteria.

Requirements for (1) quantification, and (2) monitoring and verification of GHG benefits through Partnership projects are outlined below:

(1) Quantification Requirements

USDA encourages deployment of innovative, cost-effective methods for the quantification of greenhouse gas and carbon sequestration benefits in these pilots.

Alongside such innovative approaches, the Carbon Management Evaluation Tool (COMET) should be used where applicable. COMET is an USDA online management system that provides land owners and conservation planners with an easy-to-use, web-based tool to evaluate potential carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reductions from adopting production practices. The methodologies used in the suite of COMET tools are documented in USDA’s entity-scale methods, “Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory” (“Entity Scale Methods”), and are based on peer-reviewed science. At present, USDA uses COMET-Planner to quantify the greenhouse gas and carbon sequestration benefits for a number of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. To help ensure comparability of project results, funded projects also should use COMET-Planner, where applicable, to determine common estimates of the GHG impacts of activities. Projects are encouraged to use USDA’s Entity Scale Methods when GHG benefit estimates are not available in COMET- Planner. Applicants are also encouraged to use innovative quantification methodologies in addition to those mentioned above or for situations. The outcomes of the alternative methods should be compared against the Entity-Scale Methods and/or COMET-Planner, as appropriate. Alternate methodologies should be documented transparently, be based in peer-reviewed literature whenever possible, be replicable by third parties, and be available for other projects to implement.

https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDATB1939_07072014.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDATB1939_07072014.pdf https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDATB1939_07072014.pdf

Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 20 of 48

(2) Monitoring and Verification Requirements

USDA is not prescribing monitoring and verification methodologies, and is seeking proposals that include innovative, rigorous and cost-effective approaches. Innovation in approaches to monitoring and verification will help to facilitate the deployment of climate smart agriculture and forestry at scale and provide information critical to adapting quantification models in the future. Proposed monitoring and verification approaches should ensure the integrity of the GHG benefits and resulting climate-smart commodities, while also ensuring that transaction costs are not a barrier to participation.

Additional requirements for quantification, monitoring and verification may be provided at the time of award.

Partnerships Network

A representative from each awarded project must be designated as a member of the “USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Learning Network” (Partnerships Network). Participation involves up to two virtual meetings and two in-person meetings a year during the project duration, subject to change. The Partnerships Network will be co-chaired by the Office of the Chief Economist and FPAC. The Partnerships Network will inform synthesis reports to be assembled by USDA on a range of topics related to the implementation of Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects, including:

• Lessons-learned as projects are implemented;

• Options for providing technical assistance;

• Procedures for measurement/quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG benefits;

• Options for tracing climate-smart commodities through the supply chain;

• Mechanisms for reducing costs of implementation;

• A forum for discussion and learning regarding approaches to CSAF program implementation (including but not limited to deployment;

measurement/quantification, monitoring, reporting, tracking, and verification of associated greenhouse gas benefits and marketing of climate-smart commodities).

• Synthesis of outcomes and successes; and

• Opportunities for USDA and others to inform future approaches to generating new and expanded markets for climate-smart commodities.

If your proposal will include information collection from non-Federal sources, Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity Page 21 of 48 ensure the collection meets the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Surveys of individuals or entities are generally prohibited without prior approval from the Office of Management and Budget. For additional guidance about allowable and unallowable activities, please visit the following website:

https://pra.digital.gov/do-i-need-clearance/ .

The following documents do not count toward the above-stated page limit.

b. Application Form

(Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance) See Instructions for Completing SF-424 located at the end of this document.

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 the 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 at the end of this document. Refer to Section D of this opportunity for information regarding indirect costs.

d. Budget Narrative

i. In a separate document titled “Budget Narrative,” explain and justify all requested budget items/costs. (Refer to the budget narrative guidance located at the end of this document.) 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. The pages included as the budget narrative do not count toward the page limit. Cost sharing/matching must be committed at the time of application submission. The budget narrative must show the amounts and sources of match or cost share (including both cash and in-kind contributions).

ii. Any non-Federal entity (except State and local governments that receive more than $35 million per year in Federal funding) that does not have a current negotiated (including provisional) rate may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely. No documentation is required to justify the 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate.