North Central Water Network's Successful Proposals

by Rick Koelsch and Rebecca Powers, 1/15/15

The North Central Region Water Network just announced funding for four seed projects in 2015. These seed grants are financed by the Extension Deans/Directors of the North Central region and designed to build regional collaborative teams addressing water issues.

The Network funds three types of projects including 1) Planning projects that lead to competitive grant proposals or other funding opportunities, 2) program delivery projects to support new multi-state Extension programming and 3) professional development for extension professionals on water related topics.

Additional information about the North Central Water Network and their funding opportunities are available at their web site. You can also participate in discussion among water resource professionals in the region by posting and subscribing the listserv maintained by the Network: 
Posting Address               ncrwater@lists.wisc.edu

Subscribe Address          join-ncrwater@lists.wisc.edu

Unsubscribe Address     leave-ncrwater@lists.wisc.edu

The 2015 funded proposals include:

Title: Increasing Volunteer Nutrient Monitoring and Outreach with Extension across States

Lead investigator: Kris Stepenuck (WI), kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu, (608) 265-3887
Participating states: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Award Amount: $26,480

Title: Mapping the Pathways for Effective Information Dissemination and Education between Manure Nutrient Management Agriculture Professionals

Lead investigator: Erin Cortus (SD), erin.cortus@sdstate.edu, (605) 688-5144

Participating states: Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota

Award Amount: $25,658

Title: Watershed Management:  Developing Leadership Capacity in Collaboration and Civic Engagement for Collective Action
Lead investigators: Joe Bonnell (OH), 614-292-9383, bonnell.8@osu.edu and Barbara Radke (MN)
Participating states: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin

Award Amount: $22,945

Title: Capacity Building Workshop for Irrigation Professionals in the North Central Region

Lead investigator: Joshua Stamper (MN), jstamper@umn.edu, 612-626-4986

Participating states:, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota

Award Amount: $16,034 (approximate)

2015 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Call for Proposals

by Rick Koelsch, UNL Extension, January 15, 2015


USDA NIFA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program awards grants to organizations implementing programs to train beginning farmers and ranchers, including workshops, educational teams, training, and technical assistance.  The 2015 request for proposals (RFA) is now available with proposal applications due on March 13, 2015.  

Here are a few Q&A's for your information...

Where do I find additional information about the program?    If you want a short overview of the program, review the USDA news release.  The 2015 Requests for Application is your bible for a successful application and should be the starting point for anyone contemplating an application.  A webinar is planned for Wednesday, February 11 from 2 to 4 pm Eastern Time.  But don't wait until the webinar to begin assembling your team and proposal.  A more detailed set of documents and resources are found on NIFA web page. 

What has this program supported in the past?   From 2009-2012, 145 awards were made for more than $71 million through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Additional information about USDA support for new farmers and ranchers is available at www.usda.gov/newfarmers. Specific information about outcome and examples of successful projects from 2010 funded projects and 2011 funded projects area available. Abstracts of all funded projects are also available.

Who is eligible to participate? The proposal is available to a broad range of public and private entities, including Extension. Partnerships are highly valued.  Extension should consider partnerships with Federal, State or tribal agencies; a community-based and nongovernmental organization; college or university (including an institution awarding an associate’s degree) or foundation maintained by a college or university.  Because 10% of the funding is targeted towards projects that reach military veterans as well as social disadvantaged audiences, partnerships that lead to reaching these audiences will have an advantage.

What types of projects will be funded?  The RFA introduces two general categories for grants: 1) Standard projects and 2) Educational Enhancement Projects.  The long-term goals of the Standard BFRDP projects are to enhance the sustainability of beginning farmers and ranchers through education, training, mentoring and outreach programs that enhance self-employment in farming, ranching and forestry opportunities.  The long-term goals of the Educational Enhancement Team (EET) projects are to identify gaps in beginning farmer and rancher training by evaluating all existing programs, and to develop and conduct train-the-trainer projects to address these gaps.