Urban Farm Conservation Mini-Grant

The Urban Farm Conservation Mini-Grant offers up to $5,000 for commercial urban farmers in Minnesota to implement conservation practices.

The intent of this grant program is to support commercial urban farmers to pay for equipment, materials, and services they may need to manage their farm’s soil, water, and plant and animal life with conservation in mind. Learn more about conservation basics for farmers and landowners from the funder of this grant, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS).

Through this grant, urban farmers will be able to pay for conservation-related efforts including but not limited to:

• Soil improvement
  • Soil testing including for nutrients, biology, and contaminants
  • Urban farm composting facilities
  • Multi-species cover cropping
  • Specialty crop rotations
  • Reduced tillage practices
  • Raised bed systems including soil and compost
• Water management
  • Micro irrigation systems
  • Mulching with natural materials
  • Rain barrels and rainwater management
• Plant and animal health
  • Pollinator mixes for plant cover
  • Perennial vegetation including field border
  • Conservation-minded weed treatment
  • Low tunnel systems
  • Urban forestry

Funds available

Applicants may request up to $5,000. The minimum request allowed is $500.

MDA expects to award $75,000 using a competitive review process. 

Please note: Grant funds are dispersed on a reimbursement basis. A grantee will need to pay for their expenses up front and then request reimbursement with proof of payment for expenses.

Eligible applicants

Entities that 1) grow or raise farm products in an urban setting, and 2) sell those farm products, are eligible. This includes but is not limited to:

• For-profit businesses
• Nonprofit organizations
• Native American tribal communities
• Local government entities
• Schools and universities

Applicants must be:

• A commercial farm, meaning they sell at least $1,000 of their farm products annually.
• Based in a Minnesota location that meets one of the following criteria:
  • Farming within the municipal boundaries of a Minnesota town with a population over 5,000, or
  • Farming within the boundaries of federally recognized tribal land and serving tribal community members, regardless of population size.
• Able to provide proof of earning less than $300,000 in agricultural sales per year for the past three calendar years (2021-2023).
• In good standing with the State of Minnesota:

Applying

The application period opens Wednesday, November 20, 2024 and closes at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Carefully read the full Urban Farm Conservation Mini-Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF) for eligibility and requirements. (If you have trouble opening the PDF, try another browser — Edge and Chrome work well.)

Apply for the Urban Farm Conservation Mini-Grant using our online application system.

• If you are a new user, you need to create an account first.
• Once you are logged in, select “Urban Farm Conservation Mini-Grant.”
• Contact us if you need this information in a different format.

Information session

There was an online public information session on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at noon.

During this session MDA staff went over some basic information about two urban agriculture focused grants, this one and the AGRI Urban Agriculture grant. See recording below.

Technical assistance on conservation practices

The funder of this grant, NRCS, has an abundance of resources on how to carry out conservation practices, which may be directly useful to grant applicants. See the video below addressing some of the resources in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide, a toolbox with available practices, practice overviews, and resources for each practice.

If you have questions about the technical assistance available through NRCS for urban farm conservation practices, please contact District Conservationist Matthew Lundberg, matthew.lundberg@usda.gov, (651) 463-8665 ext. 6416 or Soil Conservationist Geoff Popken, geoffrey.popken@usda.gov, (507) 318-6685.

Review process

Awardees will be selected through a competitive process where applications are evaluated by a review committee based on criteria shared in the RFP. MDA staff estimate applicants will be notified during March 2025 about the outcome of their application.

Grant Q&A

See below for frequently asked questions as well as answers to questions submitted to the MDA. Questions from the public about this program will be posted with answers to ensure transparency and access to the same information for all potential applicants.

If you have questions that are not addressed here or in the RFP, email them to Emily Toner at emily.toner@state.mn.us before 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 23, 2025. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)