Here are some common questions about the AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant (SustAg). If you have questions that are not addressed here, please email them to MDA.AGRIGrants@state.mn.us with "AGRI SustAg Questions" in the subject line. We will post all questions and answers on this page.
- General questions
- Project eligibility
- Eligible items
- Budget
- Timeline
- Technical and farmer cooperators
- Match
General questions
- What is the definition of a farmer?
- For this grant, a farmer is someone who cultivates, operates, or manages a farm for profit, and who grows or raises at least $1,000 of agricultural products for sale annually.
- If I currently have a SustAg grant, am I eligible to apply for another project?
- Yes, you are eligible to apply for another project.
- Can I submit more than one application for multiple project ideas?
- Yes; however only one project can be funded each year.
- Can I submit the same project to another funder besides the MDA?
- Yes, you can apply to multiple funders for the same (or a similar/related project.) You are required to include that information in the last question of the application.
- Does the MDA have a list of past recipients of AGRI SustAg grants with details of the projects?
- We have a list of past projects on our website or you can request a list of the titles of all completed projects sorted by category (Alternative Markets & Specialty Crops, Cropping Systems & Soil Fertility, Energy, Fruits & Vegetables, and Livestock). You may also request copies of up to three applications of previously awarded grantees. These copies will have personal and business information blacked out and letters of commitment or support and budget omitted.
- What is your advice to increase my chances of getting my application approved and be awarded a SustAg grant?
- 40 to 50% of the SustAg applications submitted are approved to be funded. To prepare, read the application questions and evaluation profile in the RFP and work with your cooperator on plans and budget. Your chances are better if you:
- Answer each question completely or address each point in a narrative and provide a well thought out list of budget items with reasonable costs.
- Address your answers to review committee members that have different backgrounds and knowledge from you (i.e. clearly describe your points so anyone can understand and follow).
- Convince the reviewers that you have an innovative, interesting, and reasonable project.
- Demonstrate you are able to set up and complete this project.
- Show that other farmers, ag professionals, or those involved in marketing agricultural products will be interested to learn the results of your project.
- 40 to 50% of the SustAg applications submitted are approved to be funded. To prepare, read the application questions and evaluation profile in the RFP and work with your cooperator on plans and budget. Your chances are better if you:
- Are we more likely to receive a grant if we request a lower amount?
- This grant is a competitive grant, and reviewers will be considering the entire application for funding decisions including funding requested. From the evaluation criteria in the RFP, budget questions that reviewers will ask are:
- Is the budget appropriate for the project as described? Are the itemized costs realistic?
- Is the budget detail sufficient to justify the request?
- Are consulting/purchased service charges less than 50% of the total cost and reasonable?
- Does the budget clearly explain sources and amount of applicant’s funds?
- This grant is a competitive grant, and reviewers will be considering the entire application for funding decisions including funding requested. From the evaluation criteria in the RFP, budget questions that reviewers will ask are:
- Is there a minimum or maximum acre limit for the project?
- There is no maximum or minimum acreage for your project but you will want it to be big enough to get meaningful results and small enough not to exceed the maximum allowed by the grant, unless you plan to pay for the remaining acreage out of pocket.
- Can we do the project variable in year 1 then control in year 2?
- With something like a cover crop trial you will probably want to do the control and the variable side by side in the same year to account for possible differences in weather that you can’t control. You can submit the grant as you described but I have a feeling our reviewers would prefer to see the control and the various treatments done the same year.
- Does the field day need to be held at the location of the project or can we host it at a local cafe or meeting room?
- The field day can be held at the location of your choosing; over the past couple of years we’ve even done them virtually. If you do choose not to have the field day onsite, make sure to include a description of how you will adequately show your results to attendees. Keep in mind that sharing your results with the public is a major piece of this grant and the reviewers may consider how well you plan to do this as part of the review process.
Project eligibility
- I have a project idea but am not currently a farmer in Minnesota. However, I work on a farm located in Minnesota and own a small farm in another state. Would I apply as a farmer or something else?
- Recipients must be Minnesota residents or organizations located in Minnesota.
- I work with a community garden that donates all produce to local food shelves. Does this make us ineligible for this grant?
- The community garden is not producing food with the intent to sell so it does not meet our definition of a farmer as written.
- Would my project be eligible if it was previously done in another region of the state?
- Yes, similar projects in parts of the state where the practice or system is still considered new or innovative are eligible. Reviewers are looking for interesting ideas that may or may not work to increase energy efficiency or profitable production or benefit the environment.
- I would like to submit two applications to test two different ideas on farms in my region of Minnesota and in Wisconsin; is that allowed?
- Applicants must live or work in Minnesota and demonstrations must occur on farms located in Minnesota. An applicant is eligible to receive only one AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant at a time. Current grantees or past grantees with completed grant projects are eligible to receive additional grants to either continue the project or for a new idea.
- Are farmer applicants outside of Minnesota eligible? I previously farmed in southeast Minnesota and moved my farm business to Iowa last year. I serve customers/clients in Minnesota.
- This grant is only open to farms in Minnesota.
- Do we need to be an LLC to apply or be formally incorporated in some respect, or is there a benefit to incorporating as an LLC for these grants?
- You do not need to be an LLC to apply for these grants and there is no benefit to incorporating for MDA’s grant programs. Applicants must be:
- in good standing with the state of Minnesota (no back taxes)
- a current Minnesota resident (Individual) or a business entity that has authorization to farm in Minnesota
- You do not need to be an LLC to apply for these grants and there is no benefit to incorporating for MDA’s grant programs. Applicants must be:
Eligible items
- Can I spend grant money on equipment rental or use of my own equipment?
- Yes to both. You can charge reasonable per acre or per hour costs (e.g., woodchipper, skidsteer use).
- Is the purchase of seed stock (nursery transplants) eligible for use of grant funds for a SustAg project?
- Because seed is eligible as a supply, a seedling or the common method of planting a certain type of plant needed to conduct the project will be eligible. Bare root flowers, fruit tree stock, and grape and blueberry cuttings/runners/starter plants are eligible and have been funded in the past for the amount needed to conduct the research or demonstration project.
- Note: Funding the planting of a significant part of an orchard or field of flowers to start a new business or expand your current business will not be allowed.
- Because seed is eligible as a supply, a seedling or the common method of planting a certain type of plant needed to conduct the project will be eligible. Bare root flowers, fruit tree stock, and grape and blueberry cuttings/runners/starter plants are eligible and have been funded in the past for the amount needed to conduct the research or demonstration project.
- I would like further explanation of what is eligible as labor costs “beyond normal farming operations”. Would the labor for “normal farming operations” include the planting and care of the plants and the setting up of the components in this study?
- Farming labor working on the grant project is an eligible cost, while non-grant farming labor doing work on the rest of the farm is considered "normal farming operations". Time spent on grant project work can be assigned to the budget. Labor costs for time spent doing other farming duties are not eligible for grant funds, so you will need to track the time spent specifically working on the approved grant project.
- Example: You farm a total of 10 acres but one acre is involved with the grant project; you should only include your time spent tending the one acre as your reimbursed labor.
- Farming labor working on the grant project is an eligible cost, while non-grant farming labor doing work on the rest of the farm is considered "normal farming operations". Time spent on grant project work can be assigned to the budget. Labor costs for time spent doing other farming duties are not eligible for grant funds, so you will need to track the time spent specifically working on the approved grant project.
- If a piece of equipment that costs more than $1,500 is needed to conduct my research or demonstration project, do you think there is leeway in the RFP for the grant to pay for $1,500 of the purchase and the remainder of the cost is my (the grantee’s) responsibility?
- We will approve the use of grant funds for $1,500 towards the purchase cost of an eligible piece of equipment if the review committee approves it. We suggest that you provide sufficient justification in your application that the equipment is needed to conduct the research or demonstration project, that it’s not general-purpose farm equipment, and that it can’t be easily rented.
- Our proposed SustAg project will include bringing an expert to Minnesota to conduct project activities. Are international travel costs (time, airfare, etc.) for a consultant eligible for funding?
- State grant requirements and AGRI funds do not explicitly restrict use of grant funds for international travel costs. Therefore, international travel costs incurred by a contracted consultant should be eligible for SustAg funding if the reviewers, MDA grants staff, and commissioner understand the direct need for the proposed travel to conduct the project and approve it in your application. You will also need to submit documents that show these travel expenditures were tied to the purpose of the grant project when you turn in payment documentation to us with your annual report. If your application is approved, we will inform you of the process to use to be able to use grant funds to pay for international travel costs before you incur these expenses.
- As the lead on this grant and a university employee I will be doing work on the project directly. Would I be eligible for salary compensation? In other words, could I pay myself from this grant provided I document hours associated with this project?
- The time you spend working on the grant would be reimbursable. In this case reimbursement would go to the university.
- I would like to construct solar panels to power my swine facility and would love to be able to provide data to other beginning farmers like myself on the environmental impact and the economical data based on my own experience if I can get them constructed. Expenses of this project would be cement for mounting equipment, the mounting equipment itself, trenching, solar panels, solar inverters, electrician labor, and then an outreach event. Which, if any of these expenses reimbursable?
- The current RFP states that “long-lasting general purpose equipment” is not eligible for reimbursement. Solar panels are long-lasting but not necessarily general purpose and they would be needed to evaluate the ability to offset electricity costs in a hog operation and feasibility for beginning farmers. However, the RFP goes on to say that wind turbines specifically are not eligible for reimbursement and solar panels are pretty similar to wind turbines when it comes to their purpose. What is comes down to is that this is ultimately a decision the review committee would have to make. They would decide if solar panels would qualify for reimbursement and how to break down the reimbursable portion of each component. We still cannot pay more than $1,500 for a single piece of equipment.
Budget
- What is an acceptable wage to pay family members while working on the grant project?
- The wage rate you request should be the usual rate of pay for someone doing that job. We think that $15.00 to $20.00 per hour would be reasonable rate of pay for someone doing regular farm tasks like sowing and weeding or light construction that does not require certification or expertise. More skilled tasks such applying inputs, collecting data, or electrical work would command a higher wage rate. If you, or someone you know, is qualified to do statistical analysis of the project data, then the rate of pay for this work would be $30.00 to $35.00 per hour.
- I am not sure how to develop my budget in the application. I am concerned that the actual expenditures will be different from the amounts I put in the budget. How does that play out?
- In your annual financial and progress report, we expect you to report your actual grant project expenditures. We allow small deviations from predicted costs as long as the grant project work plan is followed in good faith. If larger changes to the budget or work plan are needed because of circumstances out of your control, challenges encountered, or things learned as the project is proceeding, we ask that you request these changes ahead of time or as they become evident. These requests are approved a vast majority of the time.
Timeline
- Could you give me an idea of when selections will be announced, and when we should plan for an earliest start date?
- All applicants will be informed whether or not their application is approved by the end of February. Successful applicants will be required to participate in a new grantee conference call in March, and projects can start in late March or early April.
Technical and farmer cooperators
- Can I work with a Cover Crop Specialist as my technical cooperator?
- Yes, a Cover Crop Specialist could be a technical cooperator as long as they are not a family member and you are not paying them to do the entire project for you (you can pay them an hourly rate for their involvement with the project). They should have technical expertise that will strengthen the project including but not limited to soil science, biology, agronomy, horticulture, entomology, engineering, marketing, finance, data collection, or statistics.
- Do I need a technical cooperator? What if I don’t have a technical cooperator?
- This program requires that farmers involve at least one technical cooperator and include a letter of commitment from the cooperator within the application. If you don’t have a technical cooperator, you won’t receive a SustAg grant.
- Where would I go for technical assistance with research and design of the field experiment and writing the grant application?
- You can get assistance from many sources (they can also be your technical cooperators). Some ideas include University of Minnesota (UMN) Extension staff, UMN researchers studying the subject of your on-farm research project, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP has five regions covering Minnesota), Soil and Water Conservation District representatives, Sustainable Farming Association staff, Land Stewardship Project staff, local USDA Farm Service Agency staff, an instructor at a community college, etc.
- I have two technical cooperators lined up that will assist with this grant project (if funded). From reading Greenbook articles, many of the approved applicants have several technical cooperators listed. Will my chances of approval be higher if I add other technical cooperators in my application even though their contributions to my project are quite small?
- The reviewers do not give extra points for entering more collaborators than required in the application. If you think you will benefit from using more technical cooperators, you should include them in your application. However, one good cooperator whose expertise complements yours may be better.
Match
- Will you explain how to figure in the match when I am going to do my SustAg project on a portion of my own land that I am setting aside the next 3 years? My project will cost over $25,000.
- You are allowed to request more than $25,000. However, the amount requested over $25,000 will need to be matched $1 for $1 for total project costs above $25,000. For example, if the total project cost adds up to $45,000 for three years, you may request a $35,000 award and plan to provide a $10,000 match. Some of this match can be from the value of the land set aside and the remainder can be covered using your own funds.
- Note: the value of the land set aside to conduct the project is the only type of non-cash match that is allowed.
- You are allowed to request more than $25,000. However, the amount requested over $25,000 will need to be matched $1 for $1 for total project costs above $25,000. For example, if the total project cost adds up to $45,000 for three years, you may request a $35,000 award and plan to provide a $10,000 match. Some of this match can be from the value of the land set aside and the remainder can be covered using your own funds.
- As a state institution we have tuition generated revenue, but also legislatively appropriated funding. Would we be able to use operational funds as a match?
- Sources of the cash-match may include non-state funds in the form of cash, loans, other grants, or liquid capital assets dedicated to the project. In the RFP, we define non-state funds as “funds that were not obtained through the budgeting process of the Minnesota legislature or granted by a State agency.” If the operating funds come from tuition generated revenue, they would be considered non-state funds and allowed as a match.
- The SustAg application budget sheet is confusing. Do you have any guidance?
- When filling out the budget sheet, you can delete the pre-existing equations if that helps. It’s more important to have the numbers correct from your perspective so we understand what your budget requirements are. Be sure to show the total project cost in your budget, as it the basis for the grant award amount. We request that you use our budget table since we use this structure to approve your budget and incorporate it into your contract. If you absolutely can’t use this table, reference the Project Evaluation Profile in the RFP to be sure you are meeting the minimum requirements for the budget portion of the application.
- Can an industry partner that is not Minnesota-based provide the matching dollars?
- Yes, cooperators may be from outside of Minnesota as long as the project and farmers involved are located in Minnesota.
