It is once again time for another round of USDA's Specialty Crop Block Grant. This grant is to to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).” Through this program each state is allocated funding to award to organizations and associations that focus on specialty crops.


In Indiana grants are available in the range of $2,000 - $50,000 for activities and practices affecting the specialty crop industry including:
• increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption
• improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems
• helping entities establish good agricultural, handling and manufacturing practices
investing in research such as enhancing food safety, developing new and improved seed varieties &      specialty crops, pest and disease control and sustainability
• market promotion of qualified Indiana food & agricultural products

Applications must be submitted via email to ISDA by June 17, 2011. Commissions, public entities, associations, and/or nonprofit organizations that represent specialty crops as defined by USDA in Indiana agriculture are eligible to apply. A Guidance Document, Application and Scoresheet can be found on ISDA's website here.

Please note; a new change in the application process for this year is that all applicants must have a DUNS number. This is a federal requirement and can take a couple of weeks to obtain, so please plan accordingly.

This week is National Ag Week! But here in Indiana we have declared March to be Agriculture Month. One Month to recognize farmers and all they do to provide us with a safe and reliable food source. One Month to recognize how diverse agriculture is from organically grown produce, to large scale animal production units, and from hardwoods to aquaculture. One Month to recognize that Agriculture touches every aspect of your life from the mint in the toothpaste you brush your teeth with everymorning, to the fuel you put in the car, to the crayons your kids color with.

Governor Mitch Daniels declared March Agriculture Appreciation Month in Indiana. The Hoosier celebration is an extension of National Ag Week, March 13-19.

The official proclamation reads, in part:

WHEREAS, the foundation of Indiana agriculture, farm production, occurs on 61,000 farms representing 14.8 million acres of farmland in the state; and

WHEREAS, the Hoosier farmer, a symbol of strength and strong moral fiber, has displayed ingenuity in times of prosperity and perseverance in the face of hardships, while supplying our state, our nation and the world with an abundance of high quality agriculture goods and products; and…

In honor of the month and in recognition of the significant economic and cultural contributions agriculture makes to the Hoosier state, Indiana’s Family of Farmers (IFoF), a coalition of more than a dozen ag-related organizations, will sponsor a series of events and initiatives during Agriculture Appreciation Month. Stay tuned to ISDA's facebook and twitter (@ISDAgov) accounts for more information.

As I look out my window this morning I see some robins hoping around and some tulips just starting to poke up through the ground and it brings me hope that spring is on the way.  Soon I will be able to work outside in the yard, start planting my garden and enjoying warmer days in the sun.  Springtime usually brings a lot of planning from groups on outside projects they want to accomplish.  Today I am sharing a few environmental projects for communities and habitats.

Environmental Protection Agency: Technical Assistance Program for Sustainable Communities
Application deadline: March 31, 2011
This program provides support for the development and delivery of technical assistance programs that build the capacity of local and tribal governments to implement smart growth and sustainable communities development approaches that protect the environment, improve public health, facilitate job creation and economic opportunity, and improve overall quality of life. Priority will be given to programs that include provisions for standardized, “ready to go" smart growth/sustainable communities development tools, encompassing identified smart growth principles and/or the following livability principles: provide more transportation choices; promote equitable, affordable housing; enhance economic competitiveness; support existing communities; and value communities and neighborhoods. More details can be found on their website.

Fish and Wildlife Service: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection
Application deadline: April 1, 2011
This program provides support to state and other partner projects for long-term habitat restoration, enhancement or protection, and conservation of native Great Lakes fish and wildlife populations, particularly migratory birds. Preference will be given to activities that help meet the habitat goals of the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Region Joint Venture Implementation Plan or the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region Plan, other relevant bird conservation plans, and State Wildlife Action Plans.  More information can be found here.

Habitat Protection Programs in the Great Lakes Basin Supported Freshwater Future Grant Programs
Application Deadline: March 31, 2011
The Freshwater Future Grant Programs promote activities that strengthen the role of community groups working locally to protect habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. The Project Grant Program provides support for grassroots groups engaging in advocacy activities and projects to protect local lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other aquatic habitats. The Climate Funding Program offers grants to encourage local communities to become better prepared to handle the impacts of climate change.  The Insight Services Grant Program provides grants to be used for Freshwater Future’s professional services in organizational development and strategy assistance, including one-on-one coaching and group training and facilitation. Requests for this program may be submitted at any time. Visit Freshwater Future’s website for application guidelines for each of these programs.  More details regarding this program can be found here.

Applications are being accepted for the 2011 Environmental Grant Program offered by the American Water Works Company, a US water and wastewater utility company. Grants are available in American Water service areas in ten states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

This grant program offers funds for innovative, community-based environmental projects that improve, restore, or protect watersheds, surface water, and/or groundwater supplies through partnerships.  To qualify, proposed projects must address a source water or watershed protection need in the community; be a new or innovative program for the community, or serve as a significant expansion to an existing program; be carried out by a formal or informal partnership between two or more organizations; and provide evidence of sustainability (continued existence after the American Water grant monies are utilized).

Deadline for entries is March 25, 2011.  To qualify for Environmental Grant funding, a proposed project must be:Located within an American Water service area, must be completed between May 1, 2011 and November 30, 2011, and be a new or innovative community initiative, or serve as significant expansion to an existing program.
Complete program information and application requirements are available at the American Water Web site.

Today I am sharing some websites you might find useful while searching for grant funding on your own. These are great pages to bookmark and revisit on a monthly or even weekly basis to see what kinds of funding is available. As always I like to exercise a word of caution and only trust those websites that offer federal or state grants that end in .gov as there are some scams out there in the grant world so it best to be wise and use safe sites.

http://www.grants.gov/
This is a great site and offers you the ability to search by keyword or by federal agency. It also allows you to sign up to RSS feeds so you can have all the latest grant opportunities e-mail right to you.

http://www.cfda.gov/
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a site that offers both a broad overview of federal funding and allocations as well as offering some advanced search options for looking for particular grant topics.

You can also go directly to various Federal Agencies websites to search for grants they offer. Of course all the grants listed on individual federal agencies websites will also be listed on the website above, but sometimes additional information is listed on the agencies sites. Some of these agencies may also offer RSS feeds allowing you to sign up for e-mail grant alerts. Some federal agencies that may be of interest to Agricultural related projects are:
USDA- http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/funding.cfm  
US EPA - http://www.epa.gov/ogd/
US DOE - http://science.doe.gov/grants/index.asp
National Science Foundation - http://www.nsf.gov/funding/
US Department of Health and Human Services - http://www.hhs.gov/grants/

After you have been awarded a grant; your granting agency will requests reports from you to follow the status of your project.  These could be due monthly, quarterly or yearly.  Usually there will be a form or template that the grantor will require your reports be turned in as.  This could be as simple as a paragraph discribing your latest activities or could be in depth to show itemized spending, time sheets, and budgets.  Check with your grantor to find out exactly what is expected and make sure you are providing them all the documentation they need.


Reporting also requires keeping good files.  Make sure to keep copies of any bills or receipts.  If you are using your time as a match or in-direct cost it's good to keep track of the number of hours you put in on the project as well as any volunteer time.  It's also a good idea to keep track of important dates within your project (such as starting dates, delivery dates, etc.) so this can be compared with a timetable.

Lastly, always turn your reports in on time.  Know when they are due, what all is expected on the report and be honest with the grantor.  They will understand that things don't always go as planned and can help you make an extensions as needed.  It's important to have a good working relationship with your grantor so do your part in being organized and responsible.

Students in grades 4-12 are encouraged to capture their love of Indiana food and its farmers on paper or on video for the 2011 Ag Essay Contest titled “Our Food, Our Farmers.”

Sponsored by Indiana’s Family of Farmers and the Indiana Humanities Council, the essay contest asks students to explain how Indiana agriculture plays a positive role in their life—and in the lives of those around them. There are two categories of competition: video essay and written essay; and three grade levels: 4-6; 7-9 and 10-12. Entries must be received by February 15, 2011.

“Indiana’s family farms, large and small, are committed to providing a safe, stable and affordable food supply that feeds a growing population,” said Indiana Agriculture Director, Joe Kelsay. “But today's farmers do more than feed and clothe us. They contribute to the economy, protect the environment and improve our health. We want to help young Hoosiers understand and appreciate this impact.”

A winner from each grade level, in each category, will receive a Flip VideoTM Camcorder and be invited to a presentation at the Indiana Statehouse on March 7, 2011. The overall winner in each category will receive an Apple iPad.

Entry guidelines can be found at http://www.foodforthoughtindiana.org/, http://www.indianafamilyoffarmers.com/ and at http://vimeo.com/groups/agweek

This contest is part of the Indiana Humanities Council’s two-year Food for Thought initiative. Food for Thought is an examination and celebration of the ways food helps to define Indiana’s culture, considering food in the context of history, law, politics, science, the arts, religion, ethnicity and our place in the world.