Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities – Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities | USDA NRCS COMM 22 NOFO0001139

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS COMM 22 NOFO0001139

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) grant opportunity called Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities: Building Markets and Investing in America's Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Owners is a large, nationwide pilot program designed to accelerate climate-smart agriculture and forestry while building real, durable market demand for the products that come from those practices. USDA set aside up to about $1 billion under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) to support projects that simultaneously help producers adopt climate-smart practices on working lands, generate credible measurements of greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits, and create or expand markets that reward producers for delivering those climate benefits through the commodities they sell. The overall emphasis is not just practice adoption for its own sake, but a full chain approach: on-the-ground implementation plus credible quantification and verification, followed by commercialization and market pull that can sustain participation after the pilot phase.

Projects funded under this NFO are expected to provide voluntary incentives to farmers, ranchers, and forest owners, including early adopters, so they will implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems. While the NFO does not limit applicants to a narrow list of practices in the summary text, the intent is clear: funded efforts should reduce GHG emissions and/or increase carbon sequestration in agriculture and forestry systems, and they should do so at meaningful scale. A defining feature is the required focus on measurement and credibility. Each proposal must include a quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification (often shortened to MRV) plan that explains how the project will estimate, track, and validate the carbon and GHG outcomes associated with the adopted practices. USDA is signaling that claims about climate benefits must be backed by transparent methods and defensible data, because those verified outcomes are what make climate-smart commodities marketable and trusted by buyers.

A "climate-smart commodity" for purposes of this program is any agricultural commodity produced using farming, ranching, or forestry practices that either reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. That definition is intentionally broad so that projects can cover many production types, geographies, and supply chains, but every funded project must be tied to market development and promotion. In other words, applicants need to explain where the commodity will go and who will value it as climate-smart. USDA highlights several possible market pathways, such as processors or brands sourcing climate-smart inputs to meet internal climate targets or supply chain requirements, biofuel and renewable energy markets, branded consumer product opportunities, and other channels that can provide a price premium or added revenue stream for participating producers. The program is essentially trying to de-risk both sides: de-risk producer participation through incentives and technical support, and de-risk buyer participation through credible verification of climate outcomes.

The program structure uses a single award recipient per project, referred to as the "partner," even though USDA explicitly encourages multi-organization collaboration. In practice, this means one entity signs the grant agreement and serves as lead, but projects can and often should include coordinated roles for additional partners such as producer groups, universities, cooperatives, processors, non-profits, private firms, and others. Eligible applicants are wide-ranging and include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. This wide eligibility is meant to reflect the market-building goal: the strongest proposals may require partnerships that combine producer relationships, technical expertise, MRV capacity, and access to end markets.

USDA split funding into two distinct pools to support both large-scale pilots and smaller, highly innovative concepts. The first funding pool is for proposals requesting between $5 million and $100 million, intended for large-scale pilot projects that emphasize GHG benefits and provide direct, meaningful benefits across a representative cross-section of production agriculture. A major expectation in this pool is inclusion: projects should meaningfully involve small producers and/or historically underserved producers, aligning with the spirit of the Justice40 initiative. The second pool is for proposals requesting between $250,000 and $4,999,999 and is limited to particularly innovative pilot projects. This smaller pool especially prioritizes either strong enrollment of small and/or underserved producers and/or MRV activities developed at minority-serving institutions, reinforcing the program's dual priorities of equity and credible climate accounting.

Regardless of size, competitive proposals must present three core components that fit together as a coherent pilot: a plan for large-scale implementation of climate-smart agriculture and/or forestry practices (with meaningful involvement of small or historically underserved producers), an MRV plan that explains how benefits will be quantified and verified, and a market development and promotion plan that describes how climate-smart commodities will be sold and how participants will capture value. USDA also makes clear that incentives matter. Projects will be evaluated in part on whether they offer sufficient incentives to encourage producer participation and whether they are likely to generate verifiable GHG reductions and carbon sequestration. The implication is that a proposal cannot rely on vague enthusiasm for climate practices; it needs practical enrollment strategy, producer economics, and a credible pathway to measurable climate outcomes.

Administratively, applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov, with two separate deadlines based on funding pool: April 8, 2022 (11:59 pm Eastern) for the $5 million to $100 million pool, and May 27, 2022 (11:59 pm Eastern) for the $250,000 to $4,999,999 pool. USDA noted that questions about Grants.gov functionality must go to Grants.gov support, while questions about the NFO itself must be directed to the agency contact listed in the full announcement, and that USDA would not weigh in on proposal eligibility or the merits of specific project ideas outside the written guidance. USDA also pointed applicants to program webinars and supporting resources hosted on its climate-smart commodities webpage, and indicated an anticipated timeline of selections by summer 2022 with awards expected to be executed by September 30, 2022 (noting these were estimates subject to change).

Finally, USDA emphasized that these awards are federal financial assistance and encouraged applicants, especially those newer to federal grants, to take the free Grants 101 training offered through the CFO.gov grants training site. That training covers the legal and regulatory basics, common federal assistance mechanisms, the Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit considerations. This matters because projects under this program can be large, multi-partner, and data-intensive, so strong grants management capacity is a practical requirement for success alongside the technical, producer engagement, and market-building elements.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, energy, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities – Building Markets and Investing in America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers & Forest Owners to Strengthen U.S. Rural and Agricultural Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 07, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on #8226 April 8, 2022 for the first funding pool (proposals from 5 million to 100 million)#8226 May 27, 2022 for the second funding pool (proposals from 250,000 to 4,999,999).. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS COMM 22 NOFO0001139

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