Grant Recipients
Here are previous recipients of the AGRI Livestock Investment Grant, listed by fiscal year (FY)
July 2, 2024
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) foster economic opportunity for diverse communities around Minnesota, and new funding is available to help them support more of Minnesota’s farmers. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for its CDFI Technical Assistance Grant, aimed at helping Minnesota’s certified CDFIs expand their agriculture-focused services.
The MDA expects to award approximately $260,000 in one-time funding through a competitive review process, with individual grants of between $10,000 and $200,000 available for certified CDFIs in two main areas of technical assistance:
- Technical assistance provided by CFDIs to farmers (e.g., assisting farmers with loan readiness or expanding outreach efforts toward targeted groups with agriculture-focused financial services).
- Technical assistance for CDFIs to increase their own capacity to serve farmers (e.g., to develop their agriculture lending program or internal knowledge and processes as a foundation to provide financial services to farmers).
The deadline to apply for the grant is 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The MDA will notify applicants in October about whether their proposal was funded.
Full grant details and the request for proposals (RFP) can be found on the MDA website.
Applicants must be certified CDFIs who serve or intend to serve farmers in Minnesota and have participated in at least one U. S. Department of Agriculture grant or loan program. A certified CDFI is defined as a bank, credit union, microloan fund, or venture capital provider who has completed a certification process with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund.
An online public information session about this technical assistance grant will take place at noon on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The MDA will review basic information included in the RFP including applicant eligibility, funding timelines, and application questions. Registration is required.
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Media Contact
Logan Schumacher, MDA Communications
651-201-6193
Logan.Schumacher@state.mn.us
Current access to roller crimpers is limited and greater access may improve or expand the use of rye cover crops, but this is a competitive grant and priority will be given to those applicants that address a direct market limitation. The use of a roller crimper to terminate rye is a soil health practice. The purchase of a roller crimper is eligible for the MDA’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program Grants or the Ag BMP Loan Program.
I would like to purchase a roller crimper and provide custom crimping services to terminate rye cover crops. Would this purchase qualify for funding under the Developing Markets for Continuous Living Cover grant?
Current access to roller crimpers is limited and greater access may improve or expand the use of rye cover crops, but this is a competitive grant and priority will be given to those applicants that address a direct market limitation. The use of a roller crimper to terminate rye is a soil health practice. The purchase of a roller crimper is eligible for the MDA’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program Grants or the Ag BMP Loan Program.
No, the crops are not required to be for consumption nor support food production. They must however meet the goal of continuous living cover and the project should address a direct market limitation. Funds are to be used to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous-living cover crops and cropping systems in the early stages of commercial development. This can include equipment infrastructure and business and market development.
Is the Developing Markets for Continuous Living Cover grant limited to crops or cropping systems used for food production?
No, the crops are not required to be for consumption nor support food production. They must however meet the goal of continuous living cover and the project should address a direct market limitation. Funds are to be used to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous-living cover crops and cropping systems in the early stages of commercial development. This can include equipment infrastructure and business and market development.
Current access to roller crimpers is limited and greater access may improve or expand the use of rye cover crops, but this is a competitive grant and priority will be given to those applicants that address a direct market limitation. The use of a roller crimper to terminate rye is a soil health practice. The purchase of a roller crimper is eligible for the MDA’s Soil Health Financial Assistance Program Grants or the Ag BMP Loan Program.
No, the crops are not required to be for consumption nor support food production. They must however meet the goal of continuous living cover and the project should address a direct market limitation. Funds are to be used to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous-living cover crops and cropping systems in the early stages of commercial development. This can include equipment infrastructure and business and market development.
No, the grant applicant does not need to choose the funding source. All applications are going to be scored and ranked for funding in one pool. After ranking the projects, our team will determine which funding source to use for each project.
On page 12 of the RFP it outlines the questions regarding end date. Applicants are asked to include their expected end date, this would be your preferred end date. There is a follow up question, “If need be, can your project be completed by June 30, 2025?”.
All applicants must be an organization in Minnesota, so an organization based in Wisconsin (Wisconsin LLC) would not qualify. Organizations in Minnesota must have a Minnesota address and do business in Minnesota.
An organization includes a company, government, tribe, urban American Indian Community, partnership, and any type of civil or political association of people. If you meet this definition and are a Minnesota organization you could apply.
As per the RFP on page 8, a business must follow the requirements for all nongovernmental organizations.
For all nongovernmental organizations (including businesses)
Any grant-funded services and/or materials that are expected to cost:
- $100,000 or more must undergo a formal notice and bidding process.
- Between $25,000 and $99,999 must be competitively awarded based on a minimum of three (3) verbal quotes or bids.
- Between $10,000 and $24,999 must be competitively awarded based on a minimum of two (2) verbal quotes or bids or awarded to a targeted vendor.
For grant-funded projects that include construction work of $25,000 or more, prevailing wage rules apply per; Minn. Stat. §§177.41 through 177.44.
These rules require that the wages of laborers and workers should be comparable to wages paid for similar work in the community as a whole.
The grantee must take all necessary affirmative steps to assure that targeted vendors from businesses with active certifications through these entities are used when possible:
- State Department of Administration's Certified Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged and Veteran-Owned Vendor List
- Metropolitan Council’s Targeted Vendor list: Minnesota Unified Certification Program
- Small Business Certification Program through Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and City of St. Paul: Central Certification Program
The grantee must maintain:
- Written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and governing the actions of its employees engaged in the selection, award and administration of contracts.
- Support documentation of the purchasing and/or bidding process utilized to contract services in their financial records, including support documentation justifying a single/sole source bid, if applicable.
The grantee must not contract with vendors who are suspended or debarred in MN: Suspended/Debarred Vendor Information
If specific contractors are named in your application, it is expected that you have followed these requirements prior to completing your application.
All grant-funded services and/or materials must follow the required bidding process as outlined on pages 8-9 in the RFP. If you specify a contractor in your proposal, it is expected that you have followed the bidding requirements prior to submitting your application.
No, the grant applicant does not need to choose the funding source. All applications are going to be scored and ranked for funding in one pool. After ranking the projects, our team will determine which funding source to use for each project.
We understand that this RFP will be funded by a combination of general fund and LCCMR funds, each with its own required end date. Do grant applicants need to choose which pool they get funded from, or is that entirely at the discretion of the agency?
No, the grant applicant does not need to choose the funding source. All applications are going to be scored and ranked for funding in one pool. After ranking the projects, our team will determine which funding source to use for each project.
On page 12 of the RFP it outlines the questions regarding end date. Applicants are asked to include their expected end date, this would be your preferred end date. There is a follow up question, “If need be, can your project be completed by June 30, 2025?”.
