In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the MDA through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) for grants to organizations in Minnesota to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous living cover (CLC) crops and cropping systems in the early stage of commercial development. This includes, but not limited to, regenerative poultry silvopasture systems, Kernza® perennial grain, winter camelina, and elderberry.
The Request for Proposals for this one-time competitive grant opportunity opened Monday, March 13, 2023 and closed April 23, 2023. A summary of selected projects is included in the table below.
| Organization Name | Project Summary | Award Total |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson Drug & Gifts | Purchase a freeze dryer to expand the market of continuous living cover crops, primarily fruit. | $50,000 |
| Midwest Elderberry Cooperative | Design, build, and test a continuous flow prototype elderberry destemmer that can be linked to a wash, dry, and freeze process conveyor line. | $48,800 |
| Regenerative Agriculture Alliance | Purchase a mechanical harvester and two de-husking units for two hazelnut grower networks in Minnesota to hasten ongoing development of supply chains. | $50,000 |
| Nine Hazels Farm | Improve greenhouse operation to produce hybrid hazelnut seedling plugs for sale. | $29,657 |
| Perennial Pantry | Build team capacity and develop standard operating procedures to operationalize a processing plant dedicated to the production of CLC products. | $50,000 |
| Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative | Develop capacities to and systems required to market Kernza. | $50,000 |
Unused funds may be included in a second RFP in June 2024.
LCCMR Approved Project Work Plan
Funding for the program was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the MDA through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) for grants to organizations in Minnesota to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous living cover (CLC) crops and cropping systems in the early stage of commercial development. This includes, but not limited to, regenerative poultry silvopasture systems, Kernza® perennial grain, winter camelina, and elderberry.
The Request for Proposals for this one-time competitive grant opportunity opened Monday, March 13, 2023 and closed April 23, 2023. A summary of selected projects is included in the table below.
| Organization Name | Project Summary | Award Total |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson Drug & Gifts | Purchase a freeze dryer to expand the market of continuous living cover crops, primarily fruit. | $50,000 |
| Midwest Elderberry Cooperative | Design, build, and test a continuous flow prototype elderberry destemmer that can be linked to a wash, dry, and freeze process conveyor line. | $48,800 |
| Regenerative Agriculture Alliance | Purchase a mechanical harvester and two de-husking units for two hazelnut grower networks in Minnesota to hasten ongoing development of supply chains. | $50,000 |
| Nine Hazels Farm | Improve greenhouse operation to produce hybrid hazelnut seedling plugs for sale. | $29,657 |
| Perennial Pantry | Build team capacity and develop standard operating procedures to operationalize a processing plant dedicated to the production of CLC products. | $50,000 |
| Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative | Develop capacities to and systems required to market Kernza. | $50,000 |
Unused funds may be included in a second RFP in June 2024.
LCCMR Approved Project Work Plan
Funding for the program was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
This grant round was funded with the remaining money allocated to the MDA by the LCCMR and the General Fund.
The Request for Proposals for this competitive grant opportunity opened June 10, 2024 and closed July 15, 2024. A summary of selected projects is included in the table below.
| Organization Name | Project Summary | Award Total |
|---|---|---|
| Bang Brewing Company LLC | Increase the percentage of Kernza® in their beer to meet the Perennial Percent™ label and improve marketing. Purchase and convert a van to sell beer as the sole brewer at Mill City Market. | $45,000 |
| Estling Farms Inc | Develop a dedicated seed cleaning line for emerging continuous living cover crops. A new seed cleaning line will reduce the cost of CLC crop seed for farmers in northern Minnesota. | $45,000 |
| Midwest Elderberry Cooperative | Improve the developing regional hub for harvested American elderberries by purchasing a used refrigerated container for storage and paving the driveway to accommodate large trucks. | $45,000 |
| Midwest Hazelnuts, LLC | Purchase the equipment, supplies, and services needed for one aggregation station at a Midwest Hazelnuts, LLC Go First Farm in Minnesota. | $44,772 |
| Perennial Pantry | Create marketing content and strategies to enhance capacity and increase sales of CLC products. | $45,000 |
| Perennial Promise Growers | Continue market expansion for Kernza® and value-added products through customer lead generation/qualification/cultivation; provision of samples to prospective users; placement and fulfillment of orders; post-sale customer service; and coordination with value-added partners. | $45,000 |
| Regenerative Agriculture Alliance | Purchase and distribute improved Midwest Hazelnut LLC plant material directly to growers involved with the Poultry-Centered Regenerative Agroforestry ecosystem. This project will also fund training opportunities for growers. | $35,865 |
| Sturdiwheat,Inc. | Modify existing recipes to include 1% to 5% perennial grain flour and update the packaging design to highlight the perennial grains. | $45,000 |
| SUN Consulting Inc. | Build a self-propelled, mound bed cutter to sever the new woody stem of hazelnuts below the new root base, to harvest 2-year-old, farm-ready, bare root “whips” from propagation beds. | $36,000 |
| Tree Range Farms | Increase operational capacity to market the silvopasture poultry to Minnesota schools, communities, retailers, and restaurants. | $45,000 |
In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the MDA for grants to organizations in Minnesota to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous-living cover crops and cropping systems in the early stages of commercial development.
The first of two Requests for Proposals (RFP) for this competitive grant opened Monday, September 11, 2023 and closed October 2, 2023. A summary of selected project is included in the table below.
| Organization Name | Project Summary | Award Total |
|---|---|---|
| Gertens | Propagate up to 10,000 farm-ready hybrid hazelnut plants | $50,000 |
| MSX Nexgen Inc. | Supply a regional location to preclean, dry, and store winter camelina, Kernza, and other CLC crops as needed. | $50,000 |
| Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative | Expand marketing to existing customers and sales of Kernza grain to new customers. | $48,000 |
| River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co | Incorporate Kernza into at least 75% of their baked goods. This project was featured in one of the Meet the Minnesota Makers articles. | $50,000 |
| Rookie Farmers, LLC | Purchase a winter camelina cleaning trailer. | $50,000 |
In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the MDA through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) for grants to organizations in Minnesota to develop enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous living cover (CLC) crops and cropping systems in the early stage of commercial development. This includes, but not limited to, regenerative poultry silvopasture systems, Kernza® perennial grain, winter camelina, and elderberry.
The Request for Proposals for this one-time competitive grant opportunity opened Monday, March 13, 2023 and closed April 23, 2023. A summary of selected projects is included in the table below.
| Organization Name | Project Summary | Award Total |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson Drug & Gifts | Purchase a freeze dryer to expand the market of continuous living cover crops, primarily fruit. | $50,000 |
| Midwest Elderberry Cooperative | Design, build, and test a continuous flow prototype elderberry destemmer that can be linked to a wash, dry, and freeze process conveyor line. | $48,800 |
| Regenerative Agriculture Alliance | Purchase a mechanical harvester and two de-husking units for two hazelnut grower networks in Minnesota to hasten ongoing development of supply chains. | $50,000 |
| Nine Hazels Farm | Improve greenhouse operation to produce hybrid hazelnut seedling plugs for sale. | $29,657 |
| Perennial Pantry | Build team capacity and develop standard operating procedures to operationalize a processing plant dedicated to the production of CLC products. | $50,000 |
| Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative | Develop capacities to and systems required to market Kernza. | $50,000 |
Unused funds may be included in a second RFP in June 2024.
LCCMR Approved Project Work Plan
Funding for the program was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
For the purposes of this grant “continuous living cover crops and cropping systems” refer to agroforestry, perennial biomass, perennial forage, perennial grains, and winter-annual cereal grains and oilseeds that have market value as harvested or grazed commodities.
1. Mini-bulk tanks that contain pesticides must be stored in secondary containment.
2. The capacity of the secondary containment area must be a minimum of 110% (roofed storage) or 125% (unroofed storage) of the largest mini-bulk container in the containment area. Displacement of other tanks must also be calculated as well.
3. Elevating mini-bulk tanks on metal stands or pallets equal to the height of the containment wall will eliminate any displacement volume and will ease access to mini-bulks in the containment area.
4. All mini-bulk tanks must be placed a minimum of one foot from the secondary containment wall or curb.
5. The secondary containment may not contain a drain or other similar opening. If such an opening exists it must be permanently plugged to prevent an incident.
1. Mini-bulk tanks that contain pesticides must be stored in secondary containment.
2. The capacity of the secondary containment area must be a minimum of 110% (roofed storage) or 125% (unroofed storage) of the largest mini-bulk container in the containment area. Displacement of other tanks must also be calculated as well.
3. Elevating mini-bulk tanks on metal stands or pallets equal to the height of the containment wall will eliminate any displacement volume and will ease access to mini-bulks in the containment area.
4. All mini-bulk tanks must be placed a minimum of one foot from the secondary containment wall or curb.
5. The secondary containment may not contain a drain or other similar opening. If such an opening exists it must be permanently plugged to prevent an incident.
Secondary containment for mini-bulk tanks do not have to be permitted prior to construction but must meet all requirements of the rule. (See the MDA fact sheet Pesticide Storage - Bulk Requirements.) If you are constructing a mini-bulk tank containment area and have plans to permit containment for 500 gallons tanks or larger in the future, the MDA strongly recommends that you submit the plans for review to ensure permit compliance prior to construction.
The MDA will review your construction plans upon request, but this is not required. However, if the containment is found to be inadequate, you must reconstruct to meet the rule.
Secondary containment for mini-bulk tanks do not have to be permitted prior to construction but must meet all requirements of the rule. (See the MDA fact sheet Pesticide Storage - Bulk Requirements.) If you are constructing a mini-bulk tank containment area and have plans to permit containment for 500 gallons tanks or larger in the future, the MDA strongly recommends that you submit the plans for review to ensure permit compliance prior to construction.
The MDA will review your construction plans upon request, but this is not required. However, if the containment is found to be inadequate, you must reconstruct to meet the rule.
1. Anytime liquid bulk pesticides are transferred from a mini-bulk container for the purpose of impregnating fertilizer, filling application equipment for filling another bulk container a load area is required.
2. Load areas for liquid bulk pesticide transfers must have a minimum 3 inch high curb regardless of the size. It must be constructed of concrete, metal, or other materials that are deemed compatible to pesticides by MDA during permit review.
3. Facilities storing mini-bulk tanks of a rated capacity of 250 to 499 U.S. gallons must have a load area with a minimum capacity of 500 U.S. gallons.
4. Facilities storing mini-bulk tanks of a rated capacity of 56 to 249 U.S. gallons must have a load area with a minimum capacity of 250 U.S. gallons.
5. If a sump is constructed in the load area it must comply with Minnesota Rules 1505.3070.
6. Load areas must be properly maintained. Cracks must be repaired as needed and remain liquid tight.
7. Load areas for dry bulk pesticide transfers do not require a 3 inch high curb but do require a load area constructed of impervious materials and must be elevated above the ground level.
1. Anytime liquid bulk pesticides are transferred from a mini-bulk container for the purpose of impregnating fertilizer, filling application equipment for filling another bulk container a load area is required.
2. Load areas for liquid bulk pesticide transfers must have a minimum 3 inch high curb regardless of the size. It must be constructed of concrete, metal, or other materials that are deemed compatible to pesticides by MDA during permit review.
3. Facilities storing mini-bulk tanks of a rated capacity of 250 to 499 U.S. gallons must have a load area with a minimum capacity of 500 U.S. gallons.
4. Facilities storing mini-bulk tanks of a rated capacity of 56 to 249 U.S. gallons must have a load area with a minimum capacity of 250 U.S. gallons.
5. If a sump is constructed in the load area it must comply with Minnesota Rules 1505.3070.
6. Load areas must be properly maintained. Cracks must be repaired as needed and remain liquid tight.
7. Load areas for dry bulk pesticide transfers do not require a 3 inch high curb but do require a load area constructed of impervious materials and must be elevated above the ground level.
