Sustainable Farming Fund

2020 Invitation for Proposals

Funding Amount and Rolling Due Dates

The total amount of grant funds to be awarded through this invitation will be up to $500,000.

Deadline for review of proposals: January 31, 2020

Pending availability of funds, additional proposal rounds may also be solicited. If funds are
available, deadlines will be:
March 13, 2020 (second round)
May 1, 2020 (final round)

Proposals should be submitted by email to: sff@stetson.edu

For more information on the Sustainable Farming Fund: www.stetson.edu/sff

Background and General Information

The Stetson Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience (“the Institute”) has been named as
Fund Administrator for a Sustainable Farming Fund (“Fund”) established by a Consent Decree
issued through the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Pursuant to the
Decree, the Institute is to “solicit applications from, and disburse grants to, independent farmers
located in the Suwannee River Basin . . . for on-farm projects designed primarily to improve
surface water quality, groundwater quality, and soil quality so as to reduce the farm’s
environmental impact.”

One of the largest threats facing the Suwanee River Basin is nutrient loading, which contributes
to impairment of groundwater and springs within the basin. Florida Department of
Environmental Protection estimates that 60% of this nutrient loading is from farm fertilizer and
that another 21.5% is from livestock waste. To address this issue, FDEP recently adopted the
Suwannee River Basin Management Action Plan (“BMAP”) pursuant to the Florida Springs and
Aquifer Protection Act. The BMAP became effective on July 1, 2018, and it defines a
geographical area of springsheds that contribute to the Suwannee River. The BMAP identifies a
number of strategies to reduce nutrient impacts to the aquifer, springs, and Suwannee River, and

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it also requires all agricultural producers in the basin to use Best Management Practices
(“BMPs”). The BMAP also encourages sustainable agricultural techniques that exceed BMPs.
More information can be found at this link: https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-
restoration/documents/suwannee-river-lower-suwannee-river-middle-suwannee-river

The Sustainable Farming Fund seeks to prioritize projects that are tailored either towards
reducing the input of Nitrogen fertilizers while maintaining crop yields, or towards reducing the
leaching of nitrogen from livestock waste into the groundwater. To build upon existing and
proposed strategies as set forth in the Suwannee River BMAP, we will prioritize farms that lie
within the BMAP area, and specifically farms within the designated springshed boundaries. (See
Appendix A for map).

The Fund recognizes the important role that independent private farms play in the region’s
economy and in the development of solutions to agricultural challenges. The fund will only
review applications from independent farmers, defined as those whose beneficial ownership is
primarily with individuals or families who reside within the basin and for whom agricultural
production is their primary source of income. The fund encourages grants from small farmers
whose gross value of sales last fiscal year were under $500,000, and whose farm size is less than
500 acres. The fund also seeks proposals from larger independent farms for projects that have
the potential to significantly reduce nutrients. The fund also seeks proposals from cooperators
for projects that would take place on independent farms. Cooperators are various entities that
work closely with agricultural producers, such as non-profit organizations, universities,
researchers, institutes, and government agencies.

Eligibility and Technical Requirements

Producers must meet the following criteria to be eligible for grants OR must qualify as a
demonstration or youth project as described on page 4 of this document:

1. Applicants must be independent farms or cooperators as defined above.

2. Applicants must use grants on independent farms within the Suwannee River Basin, but
priority will be given to farms within the Suwannee River BMAP area, especially within
the designated springshed boundaries.
3. Applicants must have applied for or be currently enrolled in Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services BMPs and actively tracking application of
supplemental fertilization. Recipients must have completed BMP enrollment.
4. Proposals may include designated cooperators, such as other farmers, researchers, non-
profit organizations, institutes, government agencies, or universities, who may assist with
planning, data collection, or monitoring.
5. Recipients must apply proposal to at least 40 acres of their farmland.
6. Recipients must report progress relating to reduction of nutrients or other accepted metric
on a quarterly basis, but will not be required to report proprietary information.
7. Recipients should be aware that the Institute may use information provided in the
quarterly report in publications to demonstrate success of the Fund’s program, but will
not publish proprietary information
8. Funds may not be used for new personnel or indirect costs.

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 Project & Proposal Priorities

The Institute intends to fund proposals that are tailored towards reducing Nitrogen (“N”)
leaching from both fertilizer inputs and livestock waste. Because enrollment in BMPs is
mandatory as of the Suwannee River BMAP’s adoption in July 2018, and because a number of
cost-share programs already exist to assist farmers in implementing BMPs, the Institute will
NOT provide funds that merely implement these existing, legally required practices. Below is a
list of types of additional agricultural projects and practices that go beyond BMPs in attempting
to reduce nutrient pollution. The list is not exhaustive, and the Institute will certainly consider
proposals that combine multiple initiatives or include initiatives outside of those listed. The list
is merely intended to be representative of types of projects that are specifically tailored towards
reducing N fertilizer inputs and N leaching.

At the time of this solicitation, the Suwannee River Water Management District ( SRWMD) has
funding from the Florida Springs Initiative to fund precision agriculture practices. Presently,
SRWMD offers 75% funding with a 25% producer match. The Sustainable Farming Fund
encourages proposals for assistance with the required 25% match, including for those farmers
who have already been granted funding from SRWMD. More information on the SRWMD
Precision Agriculture Cost Share Program can be found at:
http://www.srwmd.state.fl.us/index.aspx?NID=366

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Based on our communications with agencies, cooperators, and researchers, the Fund
believes the following types of projects are most effective at reducing nutrient loading:

1) Precision Fertilizing & Side-Dressing Equipment: Applying the right rate of Nitrogen
for the soil and crop type with precision fertilizer and side-dressing equipment, such as GPS, rate
control spreaders, no till planters, and strip till rigs, can reduce the amount of fertilizer required.
This reduces nutrient loading and also saves producers’ money. In addition to side-dressing
equipment, the Fund will consider all proposals that aim to use technology (such as map- or
sensor- based Variable Rate Application) to optimize fertilizer application to plant needs.

2) Cover Crops: Certain cover crops add nitrogen to the soil, thus reducing the need for
synthetic fertilizers. Relevant considerations to maximize cover crops’ benefits include proper
timing of both cover crop termination (to maximize N returned to soil) and cash-crop planting (to
maximize N available to plants and avoid leaching during rain events). We encourage projects
that are aimed at using cover crops to reduce inputs of synthetic N fertilizer and that can track
this data accordingly.

3) Re-use of N-rich waste as fertilizer: Projects in this category seek to more efficiently
re-use waste such as high-nutrient groundwater or manure to substitute for fertilizer applications.

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Examples of projects could include shallow wells to allow for or improve groundwater re-use, or
improvements to litter storage barns for poultry. Funds could be used for monitoring equipment
in addition to project implementation.

4) Lined Dairy Waste Storage Ponds: Installation of High-Density Polyethylene

(“HDPE”) liners and ancillary equipment, such as biosolid separation systems for liquid waste
storage ponds, on dairy farms. This practice can achieve 100% Nitrogen reduction.

5) Poultry: Installation of litter storage barns (or retrofit of old barns) and nutrient
management tools such as GIS and rate control spreaders.

In addition, the Fund will consider the following:

6) Demonstration Projects: Cooperator projects intended to demonstrate a new

technology or practice on a private farm that has the potential to significantly reduce use of
nutrients in production.

7) Innovative Youth Farming Projects and Practices: The Institute specifically solicits a
project proposal to cooperate with farming youth groups, such as 4-H or Future Farmers of
America, to conduct a nitrogen reduction demonstration project on a private farm within the
Suwannee River BMAP area. The amount of the grant will be up to $50,000.

For more information on these practices, please visit: www.stetson.edu/sff

Award of Grants

The Institute intends to announce the first round of 2020 grant awards by February 28, 2020.
The Institute staff, together with an advisory committee of faculty and other technical experts,
will review and rank the proposals. Decisions on funding shall be in the sole discretion of the
Institute. Proposals that are ranked high enough to receive funding will be asked to sign a grant
award agreement which will spell out how funds will be disbursed and what will be required of
the recipient.
Future Grant Cycles

Per the Consent Decree, the Sustainable Farming Fund has three years to award grants. There
may be a third year cycle for proposals which could provide the opportunity for multiple-year
awards for a successful proposal through this solicitation.

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 Proposal Contents

Please submit your proposal via email to sff@stetson.edu by the deadline. Proposals should be
no more than three typed pages in length and should address the questions listed. In addition,
you may attach to the proposal any research documentation on the proposed project or practice,
or any materials on the equipment you desire to purchase or lease.

Producer Information:

1. Contact information:
a. Name of applicant
b Name of Operation (farm, school, non-profit, etc.)
b. Address
c. Phone
d. Email
2. In what county is your farm located?
3. Is it within the Suwannee BMAP area?
4. Please describe your farm’s practices and production.
a. How many acres do you actively farm?
b. What kind of crops or livestock do you produce?
c. What are your current methods for irrigation and fertilization?
5. Is your farm less than 500 acres?
6. Are your total farm sales less than $500,000?
7. Is your farm enrolled in BMPs? As of what date? If you are not enrolled, when did you
apply for enrollment in BMPs?
8. What kind of BMPs have you implemented, or are you currently implementing?

Proposal Narrative:

Proposed Projects/Solutions: What innovative project(s) do you intend to implement on your

farm? How will the project reduce N use or leaching on your farm? How many acres do you
plan to deploy your project on?

Measure of Success: How do you propose to measure the success of your project at reducing N
loading? What kinds of documentation will you keep to measure your reduced N loading? What
cooperators (e.g. Suwannee River Conservation District staff) do you expect to call on for
assistance in determining good ways to measure your success?

Estimated Nitrogen Reduction: How do you intend to estimate reduction of N on your farm?

Designated Cooperators: Do you intend to engage a cooperator to assist you in developing

your project or practice and ascertaining results? If so, who do you intend to engage as a
cooperator? Please provide the proposed cooperator’s contact information.

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Budget: What funds do you request, and how do you plan to use them? Do you plan to use this
as a match toward a specific cost-share program? Do you plan on purchasing or leasing specific
equipment? If so, what equipment do you intend to acquire?