Minnesota State Wire

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has opened applications for a grant aimed at developing enterprises, supply chains, and markets for continuous living cover crops and cropping systems. These systems are in the early stages of commercial development.

Continuous living cover (CLC) involves agricultural practices where plants and roots remain in the ground year-round. This includes various methods such as winter cover crops between summer annuals, agroforestry, perennial forage crops, biomass crops, and grain production. Examples include regenerative poultry silvopasture systems, Kernza perennial grain, American hazelnuts, winter camelina, and elderberry.

This funding opportunity marks the fourth request for proposals under the Minnesota Climate Smart Food Systems Initiative. A summary of 21 previous grant-supported projects is available on the Developing Markets for CLC Crops webpage.

CLC crops have demonstrated benefits like enhancing water and soil quality, carbon sequestration, improving soil health, and increasing biodiversity and pollinator habitats. To achieve these environmental benefits broadly requires strong value chains and markets.

Grant proposals should focus on developing enterprises, supply chains, and markets for CLC crops in Minnesota's early commercial stages. Proposals may include customized equipment for harvesting or processing crops into food products alongside market development efforts. The goal is to create a robust supply chain that expands CLC crop acreage on Minnesota's agricultural lands.

Eligible applicants must be organizations based in Minnesota—companies, governments, tribes, urban American Indian communities or other associations—and must focus on continuous living cover initiatives.

The MDA will select grantees through a competitive review process with awards ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. Central Time on Monday, July 9th via the MDA’s online application system.

For more details or to view the complete request for proposal (RFP), visit the Developing Markets for CLC Crops webpage.

It is important to note that due to recent uncertainties regarding federal funding availability publishing this RFP does not commit the state to awarding any federal funds.