The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) 2023 Dairy Plus Program will award competitive grants to California dairy farms for the implementation of advanced manure management practices that address both methane emissions and nutrient surplus.
Donor Name: California Department of Food and Agriculture
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/28/2023
Size of the Grant: $750 to $1,250,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
The California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF), in collaboration with CDFA and several other organizations, has been awarded $85 million in funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) opportunity. Over the next five years, this project will provide incentives for dairy producers to adopt advanced climate-smart manure management practices, measure greenhouse gas (GHG) and nutrient benefits associated with implemented practices, provide outreach and technical assistance, and develop climate-smart product markets. Approximately $75 million of the total awarded amount will support the implementation of advanced manure management practices through the new Dairy Plus Program.
Funding Information
- The Dairy Plus Program will make approximately $75 million available to support the implementation of advanced manure management practices
- The grant term will be 24 months
- Project funding awarded at $750 per cow, for a maximum of $1,250,000
- Costs incurred before the beginning of the grant agreement will not be reimbursed
- Awarded projects must be complete and operational no later than 24 months after the start of the grant agreement
- CDFA reserves the right to offer an award amount different than the amount requested
- Grants are paid out on a reimbursement basis following invoice submission by the awardee.
Allowable Costs
Allowable project costs include, but are not limited to:
- Supplies: Supplies and materials are items with an acquisition cost of less than $5,000 per unit and have a useful life of less than one year
- Equipment: Equipment is an article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property and has a useful life of more than one year, and a purchase cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 per unit
- Contractor/Consultant: Contractor fees are limited to labor to install the project. Consultant fees are for a specific and identifiable service that is directly related to project implementation. Compensation for individual contractor/consultant fees must be reasonable and consistent with fees in the marketplace for the same or similar services. Costs in this category must not exceed 25% of total amount requested
- Design and engineering: Design and engineering costs, including those provided by contractor/consultants up to 5% of the total amount requested are allowable. Compensation for design and engineering fees must be reasonable and consistent with fees in the marketplace for the same or similar services
- Other Costs: Other direct costs and expenses for implementing the project not covered in any of the previous categories.
Eligibility Criteria
The proposed project must meet the following eligibility requirements for the 2023 Dairy Plus Program:
- The project site must be in a commercial California dairy operation
- A dairy operation is defined as an entity that operates a dairy herd, which produces milk or cream commercially, and whose bulk milk or bulk cream is received or handled by any distributor, manufacturer, or any nonprofit cooperative association of dairy producers
- Producers receiving grant award funds must be located in California with a physical California business address
- Eligible project types can be categorized as:
- A new 2023 AMMP project + Dairy Plus Program project
- A new 2023 DDRDP project + Dairy Plus Program project
- Previous AMMP recipient with a new 2023 DDRDP project + Dairy Plus Program project
- Previous AMMP recipient proposing a Dairy Plus Program project
- Previous DDRDP recipient proposing a Dairy Plus Program project
For more information, visit CDFA.