Yes, the whole application and all uploaded documents are compiled and sent to the reviewers for evaluation and scoring.
Yes, the whole application and all uploaded documents are compiled and sent to the reviewers for evaluation and scoring.
You may submit related proposals to other state departments of agriculture, but it is important that they don’t contain any of the same project activities or costs as any application submitted to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
You may submit related proposals to other state departments of agriculture, but it is important that they don’t contain any of the same project activities or costs as any application submitted to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
We recommend a separate line in the travel budget table for each trip. We understand that this level of detail might not be available at the time of application, but if it is not included in our state plan, USDA is likely to ask for it after the state plan has been reviewed. Further details, including specific or general locations and any equations used to estimate total miles, can be provided in the “travel justification” section. If exact locations are not yet known, a rough estimate based on region (“SE Minnesota,” for example) can be provided.
We recommend a separate line in the travel budget table for each trip. We understand that this level of detail might not be available at the time of application, but if it is not included in our state plan, USDA is likely to ask for it after the state plan has been reviewed. Further details, including specific or general locations and any equations used to estimate total miles, can be provided in the “travel justification” section. If exact locations are not yet known, a rough estimate based on region (“SE Minnesota,” for example) can be provided.
A: Yes; but the project needs to end by September 29, 2027.
A: Yes; but the project needs to end by September 29, 2027.
You can register through the free System Award Management (SAM) site.
Our online application portal uses character limits. We estimate 3,000 characters is equal to a page. The character limits are listed below the text box of each narrative in the online application. Spaces DO count towards the character limit.
The USDA is looking for descriptions of all support that your proposed project has from specialty crop stakeholders, including farmers and farmer organizations. Describe the specialty crop producers/farmers, producer organizations, processors and/or distributors that support this project and why each support it. If a stakeholder has provided (verbal or written) some level of support to you or a collaborator or partner, you may include those specifics in this narrative.
A thorough description of the involvement of each stakeholder in your project in the narrative box of the application is important.
The letters of support from stakeholders are not required to be submitted with your application. However, including one or more letters by stakeholders may strengthen your proposal by enabling reviewers to better gauge the level of support for your application. If your SCBG proposal is accepted by the MDA for inclusion as a project in the MDA’s SCBG application to the USDA, the stakeholder support letters will not be included or attached to the MDA’s application.
Stakeholders in the project are not necessarily beneficiaries of the project. A beneficiary is an entity that stands to benefit from the performance of the grant project activities. Examples of SCBG project beneficiaries are the attendees of a grant funded workshop who learn how to write a food safety plan; growers who learn how to detect and control a common plant disease by attending a conference presentation; or children who learn about growing, preparing, and eating specialty crops in a school program.
Stakeholders can be growers, grower-level groups, processors, and distributors that support the project by standing to benefit from it, or that are assisting the applicant/grantee set priorities, review and comment on the project, or implement the project. For the purposes of this grant, stakeholders are not the project partners or collaborators who are listed in the application.
We prefer a two-word descriptor of each beneficiary. A more detailed explanation of benefit to underserved and beginning farmers may be needed if that is a focus of your project and you do not provide support for this statement in other parts of your application.
Yes, descriptions of all stakeholders (specialty crop growers, grower associations, processors, and/or distributors) that support your project should be included in your proposal. The USDA requires descriptions of stakeholder support for each project and the MDA needs to ensure that specialty crop stakeholders support the project. Letters of support are not included in the State Plan that the MDA submits to the USDA.
This year the work plan is built into the budget narratives for the Personnel and the Contractors/consultants budget categories. In part B of Personnel: “For each individual listed in Part A, describe the activities to be completed by name/title, including approximately when the activities will occur.” For the second bullet under Contractual Justification & Work Plan: “For each of your real or anticipated contractors listed above, provide a description of the project activities each will accomplish to meet the objectives and outcomes of the project. Include timelines for each activity.”
Only one outcome is required, but any and all applicable outcomes can be included in your proposal. If an outcome is used, at least one indicator/sub-indicator listed within that outcome must also be used, as well as the method of data collection described for each indicator/sub-indicator. Outcomes and indicators need to be reported in each annual report and the final performance report. Choosing more outcomes and indicators will not impact whether or not your project receives funding, so focus on choosing only those outcomes and indicators that are achievable and for which data can be collected and reported.
The Project-Specific indicator listed within a project is submitted with Minnesota’s State Plan when we submit our application to the USDA. The approval would come when the USDA reviews and accepts our State Plan.
The USDA has stressed the importance of ensuring that proposal outcomes fit within the established outcomes listed in the RFP.
Yes to both questions.
Yes, the whole application and all uploaded documents are compiled and sent to the reviewers for evaluation and scoring.
You may submit related proposals to other state departments of agriculture, but it is important that they don’t contain any of the same project activities or costs as any application submitted to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
We recommend a separate line in the travel budget table for each trip. We understand that this level of detail might not be available at the time of application, but if it is not included in our state plan, USDA is likely to ask for it after the state plan has been reviewed. Further details, including specific or general locations and any equations used to estimate total miles, can be provided in the “travel justification” section. If exact locations are not yet known, a rough estimate based on region (“SE Minnesota,” for example) can be provided.
A: Yes; but the project needs to end by September 29, 2027.
The word “outcome” in the project summary section is an informal word that prompts an applicant to summarize the things that will be produced/achieved from doing the proposed project. The “objectives” in the project purpose section are the specific, measurable elements of the project that will become a part of the work plan if a grant is awarded.
