Grants

Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) provides funding assistance to help agricultural producers reduce risk by voluntarily installing conservation practices to address issues such as water management, water quality, and erosion control.

The primary goal of the UAIP projects is to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production. The UAIP grants being made available for application under this NFO support planning and implementation activities. Planning activities will initiate, develop, or support the efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools, members of tribal communities, and other stakeholders in areas where access to fresh foods are limited or unavailable. Implementation activities will accelerate existing and emerging models of urban and/or innovative agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers or gardeners. Innovation may include new and emerging, as well as indigenous or non-traditional agricultural practices.

Grants can include Planning or Implementation activities:

Planning Activities
Planning activities may include:

• assessing community needs within the local food system;
• researching how food is grown, distributed, or marketed and/or recommending safe growing practices such as soil tests and environmental assessments.
• evaluating how urban agriculture and innovative production can address issues of food access, nutrition, education, conservation, and economic development.
• creating partnerships to improve growing, distributing and marketing of nutritious food;
• conducting business planning, feasibility studies, and other strategies, such as community resource development;
• developing local policy on zoning laws supporting urban agriculture and innovative production; and/or
• creating educational materials and programs that increase knowledge about food and agriculture and encourage careers in urban agriculture and innovative production;

Implementation Activities
Implementation activities may include:

• increasing food production
• promoting agricultural businesses
• providing mentoring, job training, and resources for underserved populations;
• implementing best practices to address food access, zoning, composting, land access, soil health;
• integrating emerging technologies, infrastructure needs (such as access to water and utilities);
• supporting community education about food systems, nutrition, agriculture production, and environment impact;
• operating community gardens or nonprofit farms that offer hands-on training in farming or gardening through virtual or web-based formats; and/or
• providing K-12 schools with educational resources or programs that increase student knowledge and access to locally grown foods.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before applying via Grants.gov.

Through EQIP, NRCS provides agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers with financial resources and one-on-one help to plan and implement improvements, or what NRCS calls conservation practices.  Using these practices can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving agricultural operations.  Through EQIP, you can voluntarily implement conservation practices, and NRCS co-invests in these practices with you.

HFRP provides landowners with 10-year restoration agreements and 30-year or permanent easements for specific conservation actions. For acreage owned by an American Indian tribe, there is an additional enrollment option of a 30-year contract. Some landowners may avoid regulatory restrictions under the Endangered Species Act by restoring or improving habitat on their land for a specified period of time.

HFRP applicants must provide proof of ownership, or an operator (tenant) must provide written concurrence from the landowner of tenancy for the period of the HFRP restoration agreement in order to be eligible. Land enrolled in HFRP easements must be privately owned or owned by Indian tribes and restore, enhance or measurably increase the recovery of threatened or endangered species, improve biological diversity or increase carbon storage.

Land enrolled in HFRP easements - must be privately owned or owned by Indian tribes and restore, enhance or measurably increase the recovery of threatened or endangered species, improve biological diversity or increase carbon storage.