PKG00250568-instructions.pdf

Organic Certification Cost Share Programs

Fiscal Year 2019 Full Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement

Funding Opportunity Numbers: USDA-FSA-SND-NOCCSP-2019 and

USDA-FSA-SND-AMA-2019

Catalog of Domestic Federal Assistance Number: 10.171

Application Due Date: May 29, 2019

Initial Announcement and Program Solicitation Information

Funding Opportunity Title: Organic Certification Cost Share Programs

Funding Opportunity Numbers: USDA-FSA-SND-NOCCSP-2019 and USDA-FSA-SND-AMA-2019

Announcement Type: Initial

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.171

Dates: Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 29, 2019, through Grants.gov. Applications received after this date may be considered if funds are available.

Executive Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA), requests applications for the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) and the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Organic Certification Cost Share Program, collectively referred to as the OCCSP, for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The purpose of the OCCSP awards is to defray the costs of receiving and maintaining organic certification.

In FY 2019, the available funding for these two programs is approximately $17.4M for the NOCCSP and $931,000 for the AMA. FSA awards the OCCSP funds to eligible State Agencies* that serve as administering entities, to reimburse organic operations for specific organic certification costs.

This is the initial request for applications which outlines the eligibility and performance criteria for State Agencies seeking NOCCSP and AMA funding in FY 2019. For eligible certification costs incurred from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019, organic operations may request reimbursement until October 31, 2019, unless the State Agency requests and receives approval for a different application deadline. The State Agencies may provide reimbursements to certified organic operators for up to 75% of the operation’s total allowable certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 per certification scope: crops, livestock, wild crops, handling (i.e., processing), and State Organic Program fees.

*The use of “State Agencies” throughout this document refers to the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and 5 U.S. Territories including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Program Highlights

The following changes apply to the FY 2019 program:

• The application deadline is May 29, 2019. Applications submitted after this deadline may be considered if funding is available.

• The FY 2019 Period of Qualification for organic operations seeking reimbursement is from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019. Applications for reimbursement by producers may be submitted through October 31, 2019, unless the State Agency has received approval to establish a different deadline.

• The Period of Performance for State Agencies starts when the grant agreement is fully executed and ends October 31, 2019.

• The AMA funds are one-year funds. Thus, State Agencies must obligate them by September 30, 2019.

Funds that are not obligated by September 30, 2019, must be returned to FSA so that they can be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

• State Agencies must obligate their non-AMA NOCCSP funds by October 31, 2019. Funds that are not obligated by October 31, 2019, must be returned to FSA so that they can be returned to the U.S. Treasury unless the State Agency receives an annual extension, which allows the State Agency to use remaining NOCCSP funds for reimbursements in the next FY.

• No-Cost Extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis to allow adequate time to process the cost share reimbursements and adhere to the Final Reporting Requirements outlined in this document. State Agencies must request No-Cost Extensions at least 10 calendar days before the end of the performance period.

• State Agencies must submit all requests for reimbursement by January 31, 2020, unless they have received a No-Cost Extension.

• State Agencies that establish grant agreements for FY 2019 may request annual extensions to allow them to receive additional allocations and administer the program. Annual extensions may be granted for each year through FY 2023.

1.0 Funding Opportunity Description

1.1 Legislative Authorities

1.2 Purpose

2.0 Award Information

2.1 Type of Federal Assistance

2.2 Type of Applications

2.3 Period of Performance

2.4 Available Funding

2.5 Estimated Grant Amounts

2.6 Definitions

2.6.1 Beneficiary

2.6.2 Certification Scope

2.6.3 Federal Agency

2.6.4 Federal Agency Project Manager

2.6.5 Grant

2.6.6 Pass-through entity

2.6.7 Recipient

2.6.8 Subrecipient

2.6.9 Recipient Project Coordinator

2.6.10 State

2.6.11 State Agency

2.6.12 Subaward

3.0 Eligibility Information

3.1 Eligible Applicants

3.1.1 National (NOCCSP) Organic Certification Cost Share Program

3.1.2 Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Organic Certification Cost Share Program

3.2 Cost-Sharing and Matching

4.0 Application and Submission Information

4.1 Requesting an Application Package

4.2 Content and Form of Application Submission

4.2.1 SF-424 Application for Federal Domestic Assistance (Required)

4.2.2 Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) (REQUIRED)

4.3 Grant Submission Deadline - Date and Time

4.4 Intergovernmental Review

4.5 Funds Not Applied For

4.6 Funding Restrictions

4.6.1 Limit on Administrative (Indirect) Costs

4.6.2. Limit on Direct Costs

4.7 Other Submission Requirements

4.7.1 Grants.gov

4.7.2 Data Universal Number System (DUNS) Number

4.7.3 System for Award Management (SAM)

5.0 Application Review Information

5.1 Criteria

5.2 Review and Selection Process

5.3 Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

6.0 Award Administration Information

6.1 Award Notices

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6.2 Administrative and National Policy Requirements

6.3 Acceptance of an Award

7.0 Post Award Management

7.1 Eligibility Criteria

7.2 Allowable and Unallowable Costs

7.3 National OCCSP (producers and handlers)

7.4 AMA OCCSP (producers only)

7.5 Certification Cost Reimbursements Allowances

7.6 Limitations

7.7 Subrecipients

7.7.1 Identifying Subrecipients

7.7.2 Pass-Through Entity Requirements

7.8 Application Deadlines for Certified Organic Operations

8.0 Reporting

8.1 Prior Approvals

8.1.1 Change in Recipient Project Coordinator

8.1.2 Change in Subrecipient

8.1.3 No-Cost Extension of the Period of Performance

8.1.4 Budget Amendments

8.2 Financial

8.2.1 Request for Advance or Reimbursement - SF-270

8.2.2 Federal Financial Report – SF-425

8.3 Performance

8.3.1 Narrative Report

8.3.2 Spreadsheet of Operations Reimbursed

8.3.3 Audit Reports

9.0 Other Information

9.1 Record Retention

9.2 Release of Information

9.3 Limit of Federal Liability

9.4 Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

9.5 Equal Opportunity Statement

9.6 Prohibition on Using Fund with Entities Requiring Internal Confidentiality Agreements

9.7 Extension of Agreement for FYs 2020 through 2023

10.0 Agency Contacts

10.1 OCCSP Manager

10.2 Federal Agency Address

The National Organic Certification Cost Share program (NOCCSP) is authorized under section 10606(d)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523(d)), as amended by section 10004(c) of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill; Pub. L. 113–79) and Section 10105 of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill, Pub. L. 115-334). Under this authority, Congress authorizes USDA to provide organic certification cost share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining certification under the National Organic Program. These producers and handlers may be located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share (AMA) is authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 1524). Under this authority, Congress authorizes USDA to provide organic certification cost share assistance only to producers of agricultural products who are obtaining certification under the National Organic Program within the following 16 States: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

FSA administers the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) using relevant sections of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the Uniform Grant Guidance, 2 CFR 200. FSA awards OCCSP funds to eligible State Agencies, which operate as a pass-through system, by accepting and approving applications from producers and handlers so that State Agencies can issue reimbursements to organic operations.

The purpose of the OCCSP is to defray the costs of receiving and maintaining organic certification under the National Organic Program.

FSA administers the OCCSP through Grant Agreements with State Agencies.

FSA will review new applications from State Agencies for conformance with the criteria in 5.0 Application Review Information, and FSA may require applicants to provide additional information or clarification by a specified deadline.

The Period of Performance begins when the agreement is fully executed and ends October 31, 2019. The applicant must indicate the start and end dates in Box 6c (proposed project start and end dates) of the SF-424, “Application for Federal Domestic Assistance”. (For FY 2019, applicants should enter “upon agreement execution”

1.0 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

1.1 LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITIES

1.2 PURPOSE

2.0 AWARD INFORMATION

2.1 TYPE OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

2.2 TYPE OF APPLICATIONS

2.3 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

for the proposed start date.) All funds must be obligated within the period stipulated on the Grant Agreement.

FSA may issue a No-Cost Extension to allow adequate time to process the cost share reimbursements and adhere to the Final Reporting Requirements outlined in this document.

State Agencies may request reimbursements for the OCCSP through January 31, 2020. The State Agency must obligate its AMA grant funds by September 30, 2019. AMA allocated grant funds that are not expended must be returned to the Federal Agency by December 31, 2019. The State Agency must obligate its non-AMA NOCCSP funds by October 31, 2019. NOCCSP funds that are not obligated by October 31, 2019, must be returned to FSA so that they can be returned to FSA by January 31, 2020, unless the State Agency receives an annual extension, which allows the State Agency to use remaining NOCCSP funds for reimbursements in the next FY.

For both AMA and the NOCCSP, annual financial reports must be submitted to the Federal Agency by the January 31, 2020.

Approximately $17.4M is available under the NOCCSP and $931,000 under the AMA OCCSP to fund FY 2019 applications received in accordance with this initial announcement.

Each State Agency that submits an acceptable and complete application to FSA is eligible to receive a grant amount based on FY 2018 OCCSP reimbursement requests or, if the State Agency did not administer OCCSP in FY 2018, on its most recent year of OCCSP participation, subject to availability of funding. A State Agency may request an increase to the award allocation when it submits an application if additional funds are needed to cover expected FY 2019 participation.

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

Estimated FY 2019 Award Allocations (Subject to Change)

STATE NOCCSP AMA OCCSP

Alabama $5,000 Not Eligible Alaska $9,000 Not Eligible American Samoa $5,000 Not Eligible Arizona $75,000 Not Eligible Arkansas $11,000 Not Eligible California $2,518,000 Not Eligible Colorado $163,000 Not Eligible Connecticut $26,000 $24,000 Delaware $5,000 $5,000 District of Columbia $5,000 Not Eligible Florida $78,000 Not Eligible Georgia $47,000 Not Eligible Guam $5,000 Not Eligible Hawaii $47,000 $30,000 Idaho $60,000 Not Eligible Illinois $60,000 Not Eligible

2.4 AVAILABLE FUNDING

2.5 ESTIMATED GRANT AMOUNTS

Estimated FY 2019 Award Allocations (Subject to Change)

STATE NOCCSP AMA OCCSP

Indiana $74,000 Not Eligible Iowa $245,000 Not Eligible Kansas $40,000 Not Eligible Kentucky $50,000 Not Eligible Louisiana $9,000 Not Eligible Maine $263,000 $100,000 Maryland $46,000 $14,000 Massachusetts $5,000 $47,000 Michigan $153,000 Not Eligible Minnesota $493,000 Not Eligible Mississippi $5,000 Not Eligible Missouri $39,000 Not Eligible Montana $172,000 Not Eligible Nebraska $5,000 Not Eligible Nevada $5,000 $9,000 New Hampshire $5,000 $17,000 New Jersey $57,000 $20,000 New Mexico $10,000 Not Eligible New York $448,000 $255,000 North Carolina $209,000 Not Eligible North Dakota $105,000 Not Eligible Northern Mariana Islands $5,000 Not Eligible Ohio $343,000 Not Eligible Oklahoma $13,000 Not Eligible Oregon $284,000 Not Eligible Pennsylvania $215,000 $189,000 Puerto Rico $5,000 Not Eligible Rhode Island $8,000 $5,000 South Carolina $11,000 Not Eligible South Dakota $45,000 Not Eligible Tennessee $21,000 Not Eligible Texas $14,000 Not Eligible U.S. Virgin Islands $5,000 Not Eligible Utah $5,000 $5,000 Vermont $363,000 $130,000 Virginia $43,000 Not Eligible Washington $602,000 Not Eligible West Virginia $6,000 $5,000 Wisconsin $1,005,000 Not Eligible Wyoming $24,000 $18,000

The individual or entity that benefits from the grant funds; a producer or handler of agricultural products who is obtaining certification under the National Organic Program is considered the beneficiary for the OCCSP.

Beneficiaries may be producers, handlers, or both.

The scopes of certification include State Organic Program fees and the four scopes defined by the USDA National Organic Program regulations (7 CFR 205): Crops, Livestock, Wild Crops, and Handler (i.e., Processor).

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The individual, acting within the scope of delegated authority, who has responsibility for executing and administering awards on behalf of FSA. The Deputy Administrator, FSA is authorized to obligate OCCSP funds, while the Cost Share Manager is responsible for the administration of the OCCSP (see Section 10.0 Agency Contact).

A legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and a non-Federal entity that, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6302, 6304:

(a) Is used to enter into a relationship the principal purpose of which is to transfer anything of value from the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity to the non-Federal entity to carry out a public purpose authorized by a law of the United States (see 31 U.S.C. 6101(3)); and not to acquire property or services for the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity's direct benefit or use;

(b) Is distinguished from a cooperative agreement in that it does not provide for substantial involvement between the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and the non-Federal entity in carrying out the activity contemplated by the Federal award.

(c) Does not include an agreement that provides only:

(1) Direct United States Government cash assistance to an individual;

(2) A subsidy;

(3) A loan;

(4) A loan guarantee; or

(5) Insurance.

Pass-through entity means a non-federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal program.

2.6 DEFINITIONS

2.6.1 BENEFICIARY

2.6.2 CERTIFICATION SCOPE

2.6.3 FEDERAL AGENCY

2.6.4 FEDERAL AGENCY PROJECT MANAGER

2.6.5 GRANT

2.6.6 PASS-THROUGH ENTITY

Recipient means the non-federal entity that receives a Federal award directly from a Federal awarding agency to carry out an activity under a Federal program.

Subrecipient means a non-Federal entity that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a Federal program, but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such program. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.

The individual who is authorized to commit the recipient’s time and other resources to the project, to commit the recipient to comply with the terms and conditions of the award instrument including those set out herein, and to otherwise act for or on behalf of the recipient.

Any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive of local governments.

The agency, commission, or department of a State responsible for agriculture under its jurisdiction.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

State Agencies are eligible to apply to the NOCCSP and AMA, as described below.

State Agencies within each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands are eligible to apply for funds.

2.6.7 RECIPIENT

2.6.8 SUBRECIPIENT

2.6.9 RECIPIENT PROJECT COORDINATOR

2.6.10 STATE

2.6.11 STATE AGENCY

2.6.12 SUBAWARD

3.0 ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

3.1 ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

3.1.1 NATIONAL (NOCCSP) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST SHARE PROGRAM

State Agencies within the 16 states of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are eligible to participate in the AMA OCCSP.

There are no Federal cost-sharing or matching requirements for State Agencies participating in the NOCCSP or

AMA OCCSP.

FSA posts a synopsis of each new funding opportunity at Grants.gov and includes a link on the program website at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/occsp. Additionally, FSA will electronically mail notice of the funding opportunity directly to each eligible State Agency.

State Agencies interested in applying for the OCCSP must submit SF-424 as well as SF-424B, Assurance for Non- Construction Programs via Grants.gov. If an applicant is applying for both the AMA and NOCCSP, then the applicant must submit a separate application for each funding opportunity.

Please refer to SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance Instructions for help completing the SF-424. Please use the following supplemental instructions to complete each OCCSP application.

Block Instruction #5g Congressional District Use this link to find your Congressional District Number:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ #6a Project Title “[enter name of State Agency ] –

Organic Certification Cost Share Program” #6b Project Description For NOCCSP:

“National (NOCCSP) Organic Certification Cost Share Program”

OR

For AMA OCCSP:

“Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Organic Certification Cost Share Program”

*For Pass-through Entities Include subrecipient information as requested in Section 7.7 and 8.1 in this block, if available at the time of application.

3.1.2 AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE (AMA) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST SHARE

PROGRAM

3.2 COST-SHARING AND MATCHING

4.0 APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

4.1 REQUESTING AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

4.2 CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

4.2.1 SF-424 APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (REQUIRED)

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/occsp https://www.grants.gov/forms/sf-424-family.html http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Block Instruction #6c Proposed Project Start and End Dates

State Date: “Upon final agreement execution” For AMA OCCSP:

End Date: “September 30, 2019” For NOCCSP:

End Date: “October 31, 2019”

Submit a copy of the State Agency’s approved indirect cost rate agreement to substantiate the indirect cost request, as described in Appendix VII to Part 200—States and Local Government and Indian Tribe Indirect Cost Proposals of this part. Eligible states may also elect to use the de minimis rate as described at 2 CFR 200.414.

Applications must be received via Grants.gov by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 29, 2019. FSA may consider applications received after this date if funds are available.

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

Eligible State Agencies that do not apply for or do not request all authorized funding during the specified grant application period will forfeit the full portion of authorized funding not requested. Subsequently, FSA may allocate the unrequested funds to other eligible State Agencies.

A State Agency may charge its negotiated indirect cost rate to the award. A copy of the approved negotiated indirect cost rate agreement must be submitted with the application in accordance with 4.0 Application and Submission Information. The State Agency must notify its subapplicant(s) of the limit on indirect costs in its requests for proposals/applications/contracts. Subapplicants may charge an approved federally recognized indirect cost rate negotiated between the subapplicant and the Federal government or, if no such rate exists, either a rate negotiated between the State agency and the subapplicant, or a de minimis indirect cost rate as defined in §200.414 Indirect (F&A) costs, paragraph (b) of this part.

Sample Calculation

Total Direct Cost = $80,000

Total Indirect Cost assuming a negotiated cognizant rate of 30% = $24,000

Total Grant Amount = $104,000

4.2.2 NEGOTIATED INDIRECT COST RATE AGREEMENT (NICRA) (REQUIRED)

4.3 GRANT SUBMISSION DEADLINE - DATE AND TIME

4.4 INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW

4.5 FUNDS NOT APPLIED FOR

4.6 FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

4.6.1 INDIRECT COSTS

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=4cd9b5cfc0e7cd4d42d3f1b514e190f6&node=se2.1.200_1414&rgn=div8

For this award, direct costs are limited to funds reimbursed to certified organic operations for certification costs.

Note: If a State Agency does not use all of its allocated funds, the State Agency must ensure it meets the requirements for Indirect Costs described in Section 4.6.1. and return and/or de-obligate any unused funds (direct and indirect) in accordance with specified instructions from FSA, which will be provided to the State Agency when FSA is notified about the need to return and/or de-obligate funds.

FSA requires applicants to submit applications electronically through the central Federal grants website, Grants.gov. When applying through Grants.gov, applicants are not required to submit any paper documents to

FSA.

For information on how to apply electronically, please consult the Grants.gov Get Registered webpage. When submitting through Grants.gov, please limit the file name to 50 or fewer characters and use only the following characters when naming your attachments: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore (_), hyphen (-), space, and period.

Attachments that do not follow this rule may cause the entire application to be rejected or cause issues during processing.

The State Agency must ensure that it and its sub-applicants, with the exception of individuals, have a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number at the time of application. A DUNS number is a unique number established and assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B) to identify organizations. A DUNS number is required for every application. Potential applicants and sub-applicants may acquire a DUNS number at no cost online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. To acquire a DUNS number by phone, contact the D&B Government Customer Response Center:

U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands: 1-866-705-5711

Alaska and Puerto Rico: 1-800-234-3867 (Select option 2, then option 1) Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., CST

The System for Award Management (SAM) has replaced the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) as the central government repository for organizations working with the Federal government. To receive an award under the OCCSP, applicants are required to register with SAM and, in doing so, to designate an e-Business Point of Contact (e-Business POC). The SAM registration must be updated annually. The SAM registration must be active and maintained with current information, at all times, while the State Agency has an active award or an application under consideration.

4.6.2. LIMIT ON DIRECT COSTS

4.7 OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

4.7.1 GRANTS.GOV

4.7.2 DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBER SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBER

4.7.3 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM)

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=f9339223eca71c3d7b069f4421e10110&node=se2.1.200_1413&rgn=div8 http://grants.gov./ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html http://www.grants.gov/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

The e-Business POC authorizes individuals to submit grant and cooperative agreement applications on behalf of the organization and creates a special password called a Marketing Partner ID Number (M-PIN) to verify individuals authorized to submit grant applications for the organization.

Organizations that need to register in SAM for the first time or need to update their SAM registration can do so at https://www.sam.gov/. Questions about SAM should be directed to askSAM@gsa.gov.

FSA will review grant applications to ensure the application criteria are in accordance with 4.0 Application and Submission Information.

FSA will review the application to ensure that the applicant is an eligible entity as defined in Section 3.0. There are no other statutory, regulatory, or other preferences applied in the review process, other than merit criteria as described below:

1. The application was properly completed, i.e., all required information is contained on the application form.

2. If applicable, the application identifies and includes specified information on sub-applicants.

3. The applicant is an eligible entity.

4. When a State Agency intends to subcontract any portion of the federal award to another entity, the State Agency must provide a copy of the executed agreement within 30 days of award.

5. In accordance with 2 CFR part 200, FSA may use past performance to assist in determining the level of participation or allocation of funding to the applicant during the current funding cycle.

FSA reviews applications upon their submission to Grants.gov and completes the application review process within one (1) week of the closing date.

FSA will notify the individual listed in block 8 “Primary Contact/Grants Administrator” of the SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance” if additional information is required after the initial application review. Upon completion of a successful application review, FSA will send an Award Notice in accordance with 6.3 Acceptance of Award to Primary Contact/Grants Administrator.

FSA intends to notify State Agencies and execute grant agreements by June 12, 2019.

Once all administrative and programmatic issues are satisfactorily approved by FSA, FSA will provide the State Agency applicant with a formal award notice in the form of an electronic Grant Agreement (Grant Agreement).

5.0 APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

5.1 CRITERIA

5.2 REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

5.3 ANTICIPATED ANNOUNCEMENT AND AWARD DATES

6.0 AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

6.1 AWARD NOTICES

https://www.sam.gov/ mailto:askSAM@gsa.gov

The Grant Agreement sets forth pertinent information about the grant, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Federal Agreement Identification Number (FAIN) or “agreement number;”

• Statutory authority for the award and any applicable program regulations;

• Name of recipient organization;

• Name of the Recipient Project Coordinator;

• Approved period of performance start and end dates;

• Amount of Federal funds authorized for obligation by the recipient;

• Name of the Federal Agency Project Manager; and

• Applicable terms and conditions of award by either reference or inclusion.

Note: The State Agency applicant is responsible for any pre-award costs incurred prior to the establishment of an Agreement.

Awards issues under the announcement are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. Several additional federal statutes and regulations apply to grant applications considered for review and to project grants awarded under this program. These include, but are not limited to the ones listed below.

Federal statutes and regulations found on the SF-424B “Assurances –Non-Construction Programs” (this form was submitted through Grants.gov with your application package)

2 CFR §25 – System for Award Management and Universal Identifier Requirements. See Appendix A to §25 – Award Term for Central Contractor Registration and Universal Identifier Requirements.

You must notify your potential subrecipients, with the exception of individuals, that they may not receive a subaward unless the entity has provided its DUNS number. You must not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its DUNS number.

2 CFR §170 – Reporting Subaward and Executive Compensation Information. See Appendix A to §170 – Award Term for Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation requirements.

2 CFR §175 – Award Term for Trafficking in Persons, which is the implementation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104(g))

2 CFR §180 and §417 – OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and USDA Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension

2 CFR §200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards

2 CFR §400 – USDA implementation of 2 CFR §200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards

2 CFR §415 – USDA General Program Administrative Regulations

2 CFR §416 – USDA General Program Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments

6.2 ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.25&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=20d5ac5793ccbefaebb12569889cd5e5&ty=HTML&h=L&r=APPENDIX&n=2y1.1.1.2.2.3.1.14.1 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=20d5ac5793ccbefaebb12569889cd5e5&ty=HTML&h=L&r=APPENDIX&n=2y1.1.1.2.2.3.1.14.1 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=e4ad35726c0e140849e452a5644d77cf&node=pt2.1.170&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=7b32ec5aad32501e0d83ab0ee2891fa6&node=2:1.1.1.2.4.3.1.8.2&rgn=div9 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.175&rgn=div5 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:22%20section:7104%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section7104)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=e4ad35726c0e140849e452a5644d77cf&node=pt2.1.180&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=e4ad35726c0e140849e452a5644d77cf&node=pt2.1.417&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=988467ba214fbb07298599affd94f30a&n=pt2.1.200&r=PART&ty=HTML http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=e4ad35726c0e140849e452a5644d77cf&node=pt2.1.400&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.415&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.416&rgn=div5

2 CFR §418 – USDA implementation of Restrictions on Lobbying - Imposes prohibitions and requirements for disclosure and certification related to lobbying on recipients of federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and loans.

2 CFR §421 – USDA Implementation of Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)

7 CFR §1, subpart A – USDA implementation of the Freedom of Information Act

7 CFR §1b – USDA procedures to implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended

7 CFR §3 – USDA implementation of OMB Circular No. A-129 regarding debt collection

7 CFR §15, subpart A – USDA implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits you from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.)

As clarified by Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, and resulting agency guidance, national origin discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of limited English proficiency (LEP). To ensure compliance with Title VI, you must take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to your programs in accordance with LEP Implementation Strategy for AMS’ Federally-Assisted Programs. Meaningful access may entail providing language assistance services, including oral and written translation, where necessary. You are encouraged to consider the need for language services for LEP persons served or encountered both in developing your budgets and in conducting your programs and activities. For assistance and information regarding your LEP obligations, go to http://www.lep.gov.

7 CFR §331 and 9 CFR §121—USDA implementation of the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002

35 U.S.C. 200 et seq.—Bayh Dole Act, controlling allocation of rights to inventions made by employees of small business firms and domestic nonprofit organizations, including universities, in federally-assisted programs (implementing regulations are contained in 37 CFR §401).

41 CFR §§301-10.131 to 301-10.143 – Use of United States Flag Air Carriers, which implements the Fly America Act (49 U.S.C. 40118). For more information see http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103191.

48 CFR §25 – Foreign Acquisition, which implements the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. Ch. 83)

48 CFR subpart 31.2 – Contracts with Commercial Organizations

44 U.S.C. 3541 et seq. (Pub. L. 107-347) – Federal Information System Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) An Act designed to improve computer and network security within the Federal Government. Applies to recipients if it will collect, store, process, transmit, or use information on behalf of AMS.

Motor Vehicle Safety – Highway Safety Act of 1966, as amended (23 U.S.C. 402 & 403); Government Organization and Employees Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 7902 (c)); Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended (29 U.S.C.

668); Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 101, et seq.); Increasing Seat Belt Use in the United States (EO 13043); Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving (EO 13513)

2 CFR §422 – Research Institutions Conducting USDA-Funded Extramural Research; Research Misconduct

Appendix XII to 2 CFR Part 200 – Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

Applicable if the Federal share of any Federal award may include more than $500,000 over the period of performance

Prohibition Against Using Funds under Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements

(a) The recipient may not require its employees, contractors, or subrecipients seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.418&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.421&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt7.1.1&rgn=div5#sp7.1.1.a http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt7.1.1b&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt7.1.3&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt7.1.15&rgn=div5#sp7.1.15.a https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/LEP%20Assisted%20Program.pdf https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/LEP%20Assisted%20Program.pdf http://www.lep.gov/ http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt7.5.331&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=12a84d0702234e58b8fa84f326e090bf&node=pt9.1.121&rgn=div5 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:35%20section:200%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title35-section200)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt37.1.401&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=52160a32df177d5bae1f8c3725606d84&node=pt41.4.301_610&rgn=div5#sg41.4.301_610_1125.sg2 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title49-section40118&num=0&edition=prelim http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103191 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=52160a32df177d5bae1f8c3725606d84&node=pt48.1.25&rgn=div5 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title41/subtitle4/chapter83&edition=prelim http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt48.1.31&rgn=div5#sp48.1.31.31_12 http://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=116&page=2946 http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title23-section402&num=0&edition=prelim http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title23-section403&num=0&edition=prelim http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:5%20section:7902%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section7902)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:29%20section:668%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section668)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:29%20section:668%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title29-section668)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:40%20section:101%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title40-section101)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1997-04-18/pdf/97-10331.pdf http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-10-06/pdf/E9-24203.pdf http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=3f25ca1f21583e03b13f595d0d9c518d&node=pt2.1.422&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=aecfc05d20ad3965b055d30cdfb81c72&mc=true&node=ap2.1.200_1521.xii&rgn=div9 restricting them from lawfully reporting that waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal Department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(b) The recipient must notify its employees, contractors, or subrecipients that the prohibitions and restrictions of any internal confidentiality agreements inconsistent with paragraph (a) of this award provision are no longer in effect.

(c) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this award provision does not contravene requirements applicable to any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(d) If the Government determines that the recipient is not in compliance with this award provision, it:

(1) Will prohibit the recipient's use of funds under this award, in accordance with sections 743, 744 of Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, (Pub. L. 114-113) or any successor provision of law;

and

(2) May pursue other remedies available for the recipient's material failure to comply with award terms and conditions.

A signature by an authorized representative of the State Agency on the Grant Agreement constitutes acceptance of an award and its associated terms and conditions. FSA must receive a signed Grant Agreement. If a recipient cannot accept the award, including the legal obligation to perform in accordance with award terms and conditions, then the recipient should notify the FSA Cost Share Manager immediately upon receipt of the Grant Agreement.

Once the recipient accepts the award, the contents of the Grant Agreement are legally binding on the recipient.

State Agencies are responsible for the following:

Announcing the availability of OCCSP award funds within their State, including directions on how beneficiaries are to apply for reimbursement; determining the eligibility of producers and handlers of agricultural products obtaining certification under the National Organic Program and issuing reimbursements based on the evaluation of criteria listed below in Sections 7.1 through 7.6; and issuing the maximum allowable reimbursement, as defined by FSA, to eligible producers and handlers of agricultural products obtaining certification under the National Organic Program on a first-come, first-served basis.

To be eligible, a producer or handler must have paid fees/expenses related to certification under the National Organic Program between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019. An eligible producer or handler must provide the following information to the appropriate State Agency to apply for reimbursement through the OCCSP:

evidence that the operation is obtaining or has obtained certification under the National Organic Program; an itemized receipt that identifies allowable costs paid within the qualification period of October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019 (refer to Section 7.2 Allowable and Unallowable Costs); a completed State Agency Application for producers or handlers located within the State (entities with operations located in more than one State shall submit applications to the State Agencies in which the operations are located); a W-9 Tax Form (requirements vary by State); other information, as required by the State Agency, to verify eligibility or issue reimbursement.

6.3 ACCEPTANCE OF AN AWARD

7.0 POST AWARD MANAGEMENT

7.1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PRODUCERS AND HANDLERS OF AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS OBTAINING

CERTIFICATION UNDER THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

NOTE: Operations with suspended, revoked, or withdrawn certifications are ineligible for cost share reimbursement. The applicable USDA Organic regulations and resources for certification are available on the AMS website at www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

7.2 ALLOWABLE AND UNALLOWABLE COSTS FOR PRODUCER AND HANDLERS OF AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTS OBTAINING CERTIFICATION UNDER THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM

Allowable Costs Unallowable Costs

• Application fees

• Inspection fees, including travel costs and per diem for organic inspectors

• USDA organic certification costs, including fees necessary to access international markets with which AMS has equivalency agreements or arrangements

• User fees/sale assessments

• Postage

• State Organic Program fees (NOCCSP only)

• Inspections due to violations of USDA Organic regulations or State Organic Program requirements

• Costs related to non-USDA organic certifications

• Costs related to transitional certification

• Costs related to any other labeling programs

• Materials, supplies, and equipment

• Late fees

• Membership fees

• Consultant fees

Producers and handlers of agricultural products obtaining certification under the National Organic Program, including organic operations certified to the scopes of crops, wild crops, livestock, handler, and State Organic Program fees are eligible to participate in the NOCCSP.

Organic operations, as defined in Section 3.1.2, certified to the scopes of crops, wild crops, or livestock, are eligible to participate in the AMA OCCSP. Handlers are not eligible to participate in the AMA OCCSP. AMA OCCSP does not cover the scope of State Organic Program fees.

Reimbursements to producers and handlers of agricultural products obtaining certification under the National Organic Program are limited to 75% of the operation’s total allowable certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 per certification scope.

Producers of agricultural products obtaining certification under the National Organic Program are eligible to participate in the AMA and the NOCCSP. However, to prevent duplicative reimbursements to producers in States that are eligible to participate in the AMA, the cumulative reimbursement amount cannot exceed the certification cost reimbursement allowance calculated according to Section 7.5.

A producer or handler may apply for OCCSP reimbursement from either the State Agency or through a local FSA office; they cannot receive payment from both. If a duplicate payment is inadvertently made, then FSA will inform the participant and require that funds be returned to CCC.

7.3 NATIONAL OCCSP (PRODUCERS AND HANDLERS)

7.4 AMA OCCSP (PRODUCERS ONLY)

7.5 CERTIFICATION COST REIMBURSEMENTS ALLOWANCES

7.6 LIMITATIONS

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop

State Agencies may subaward a portion of or their entire award to another entity (i.e., subrecipient). Subrecipients are not required to complete the SF-424.

State Agencies that issue subawards to subrecipients as described in Section 7.7 shall submit the following subrecipient information: the entity name, the entity point of contact, mailing address, email address, and applicable website information pertaining to the Cost Share Program. The State Agency (pass-through entity) shall submit the requested information to the Cost Share Program Manager, at the time of application or within 30 days of establishing an agreement.

When a State Agency subawards OCCSP funds, the State Agency becomes a pass-through entity. Pass-through entities must ensure that subawards conform to the requirements outlined in Section 200.331 Requirements for pass-through entities are met, as detailed below:

§200.331 Requirements for pass-through entities

All pass-through entities must:

(a) Ensure that every subaward is clearly identified to the subrecipient as a subaward and includes the following information at the time of the subaward and if any of these data elements change, include the changes in subsequent subaward modification. When some of this information is not available, the pass- through entity must provide the best information available to describe the Federal award and subaward. Required information includes:

(1) Federal Award Identification.

(i) Subrecipient name (which must match registered name in DUNS);

(ii) Subrecipient's DUNS number (see §200.32 Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number);

(iii) Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN);

(iv) Federal Award Date (see §200.39 Federal award date);

(v) Subaward Period of Performance Start and End Date;

(vi) Amount of Federal Funds Obligated by this action;

(vii) Total Amount of Federal Funds Obligated to the subrecipient;

(viii) Total Amount of the Federal Award;

7.7 SUBRECIPIENTS

7.7.1 IDENTIFYING SUBRECIPIENTS

7.7.2 PASS-THROUGH ENTITY REQUIREMENTS

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fe4c558410e014c1eb5e5107b64fbf81&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5%23se2.1.200_1331 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fe4c558410e014c1eb5e5107b64fbf81&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5%23se2.1.200_1331

(ix) Federal award project description, as required to be responsive to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA);

(x) Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Name of Federal awarding agency, pass-through entity, and contact information for awarding official;

(xi) CFDA Number and Name; the pass-through entity must identify the dollar amount made available under each Federal award and the CFDA number at time of disbursement;

(xii) Identification of whether the award is R&D; and

(xiii) Indirect cost rate for the Federal award (including if the de minimis rate is charged per §200.414

Indirect (F&A) costs).

(2) All requirements imposed by the pass-through entity on the subrecipient so that the Federal award is used in accordance with Federal statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.

(3) Any additional requirements that the pass-through entity imposes on the subrecipient in order for the pass-through entity to meet its own responsibility to the Federal awarding agency including identification of any required financial and performance reports;

(4) An approved federally recognized indirect cost rate negotiated between the subrecipient and the

Federal government or, if no such rate exists, either a rate negotiated between the pass-through entity and the subrecipient (in compliance with this part), or a de minimis indirect cost rate as defined in §200.414 Indirect (F&A) costs, paragraph (b) of this part.

(5) A requirement that the subrecipient permit the pass-through entity and auditors to have access to the subrecipient's records and financial statements as necessary for the pass-through entity to meet the requirements of this section, §§200.300 Statutory and national policy requirements through 200.309 Period of performance, and Subpart F—Audit Requirements of this part; and

(6) Appropriate terms and conditions concerning closeout of the subaward.

(b) Evaluate each subrecipient's risk of noncompliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward for purposes of determining the appropriate subrecipient monitoring described in paragraph (e) of this section, which may include consideration of such factors as:

(1) The subrecipient's prior experience with the same or similar subawards;

(2) The results of previous audits including whether or not the subrecipient receives a Single Audit in accordance with Subpart F—Audit Requirements of this part, and the extent to which the same or similar subaward has been audited as a major program;

(3) Whether the subrecipient has new personnel or new or substantially changed systems; and

(4) The extent and…