ARPA Agriculture Infrastructure Grant - Concept Paper

The intent of the ARPA AIG is to advance Montana's agricultural industry through targeted investments in value-added agriculture projects across the state. Grants will assist with the development of innovative agricultural business improvements to keep pace with a transforming agricultural industry, create new jobs, and expand business opportunities.. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Food and Agriculture Development Center Network (www.foodandag.mt.gov) the Small Business Development Center Network (www.sbdc.mt.gov) and/or their local economic development organization (https://www.eda.gov/resources/economic-development-directory/states/mt.htm) as resources in developing their application. Award Amounts: $150k proposals and under - 1 to 1 Match Requirement $150,000-$300,000 - 2 to 1 Match Requirement $300,000 – $450,000 - 3 to 1 Match Requirement For matching funds, if you are requesting up to $150,000 in grant funds you must match with an equal amount of match dollars. Requests greater than $150,000 will be matched at a higher rate i.e.: a. $2 match for $1 grant funds up to $300,000 and b. $3 match to $1 grant funds up to $450,000. EXAMPLES: Total amount of award requested = $27,000; matching funds required =$27,000 Total amount of award requested = $275,000; matching funds required =$550,000 Total amount of award requested = $450,000; matching funds required =$1,350,000 Submission Deadline: December 15, 2021 at 5:00 PM Funding Criteria An applicant may be eligible for an award if the proposal meets the goals of ARPA AIG and: 1) primarily adds value to Montana’s agricultural products, 2) has the prospects for commercial success given current personnel, experience and resources of the applicant, 3) has the prospects to create and/or retain jobs in Montana, 4) has the management structure to comply with ongoing reporting and monitoring activities. Eligible Costs Eligible costs under the ARPA AIG include, but are not limited to: • Equipment • Facilities Upgrades • Consultant Services (professional, technical, operational) • Advertising and Promotion • Supplies and Materials ***Note*** If you are applying on the behalf of a local government for irrigation projects, please visit https://arpa-mtdnrc.hub.arcgis.com/pages/irrigation-grant-program for the Irrigation Grant Program. Matching Funds Matching funds are required on all awards. Matching funds must be used toward completing the proposed project and may not come from another Federal grant award. • The purpose of matching funds is to assure commitment and buy-in from the grant recipient. • The concept of matching funds is the same as sharing costs. • All matching funds must directly contribute to the project. Who Can Apply: Proposals for funding are accepted from: • Individuals • Businesses and Industry Organizations • Public and Private Agencies and Organizations • Educational Institutions • Local Governments

Pre-Applications are required. After review, selected applicants will be invited to complete the full application.

Proposals for funding are accepted from: • Individuals • Businesses and Industry Organizations • Public and Private Agencies and Organizations • Educational Institutions • Local Governments Business Registration Required To be eligible to receive funding your business must be registered with the Montana Secretary of State's office (www.sos.mt.gov). If your business is not registered we encourage you to begin that process prior to submitting an application. Request a DUNS Number All entities wishing to apply for these funds must have a unique entity identifier (UEI). Currently, the DUNS number, which is a unique nine-character identification number provided by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) free of charge, is the official UEI. D&B assigns UEI (DUNS) for each physical location of a business. Requesting a UEI (DUNS) takes about 10 minutes. Receiving a UEI (DUNS) takes 1–2 business days (under normal circumstances) when using the D&B web form. Apply for a DUNS number here: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/index.jsp Once you have a DUNS number you must register your business at SAM.gov Debarment & Suspension Organizations or individuals that are suspended, debarred, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from eligibility for covered transactions by any Federal department or agency cannot, during the period of suspension, debarment, or exclusion, receive grants or be paid from grant funds, whether under an award, subaward, or contract. Regulations published in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and supplemented by USDA at 2 CFR part 417; describe the government-wide debarment and suspension requirements. You are required to disclose if any of the following conditions apply to Subrecipient or principals, including all key grant management personnel: • Within the 3-year period preceding the application, the Applicant or its principals have been convicted of, or had a civil judgment rendered against them, for: o fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; o violation of a Federal or State antitrust statute; o embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification, or destruction of records; or o false statements or receipt of stolen property. • The Applicant or its principals are presently indicted or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated above. • Within a 3-year period preceding the application, the Applicant or its principals had any public transaction (Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default. A variety of “lower-tier” covered transactions are also subject to these requirements. Contracts (including individual consultants) under grants (where the contract requires the provision of goods or services that will equal or exceed $25,000) and all subawards also are subject to these suspension and debarment rules. The requirements of Subpart C of 2 CFR part 180 provide Subrecipient’s responsibilities when entering into a lower-tier transaction. Delinquency on Federal Debt Any organization or individual that is indebted to the United States and has a judgment lien filed against it for a debt to the United States, is ineligible to receive a Federal grant. Applicants are required to inform MDA if they are delinquent on any Federal debt. If an applicant discloses a delinquency, MDA may not award a grant until the debt is satisfied or satisfactory arrangements are made with the agency to which the debt is owed. Anyone who has been judged to be in default on a Federal debt and who has had a judgment lien filed against him or her should not be a participant in an application for a SCBG grant until the judgment is paid in full or is otherwise satisfied. No funds may be re-budgeted following an award to pay such an individual. MDA will disallow costs charged to awards that provide funds to individuals in violation of this requirement. Past Performance An applicant may be removed from competition in the screening stage if they previously received funding from MDA and failed to adequately deliver on the conditions of that funding. Failure to perform may include, but is not limited to: • Inability to responsibly manage funds • Inability to adhere to reporting requirements • Failure to provide agreed upon deliverables Personal Guarantee Required Recipients of ARPA AIG grant are required to name a personal guarantee, unless otherwise specified. This is the person to guarantee that the terms of the grant will be met at the risk of personal and financially responsibility.

Additional information on applying can be found at this link.

Reporting is a condition of receiving program funding. Reporting is completed online and the Department reserves the right to determine the extent of reporting requirements, subject to modification over the course of the project. Interim reporting requirements will be based on the cost, duration and nature of the project. Typically, award recipients are required to submit completed semi-annual report forms that address both the project activities and expenditures for the preceding six (6) months. Also, recipients are required to submit a completed final report form that summarizes the impacts of the project. The Department and staff will be responsible for monitoring each funded project.

Ownership and Publication of Materials All information and materials generated by the proposed activity may become the joint property of the State of Montana and the recipient. The award recipient will retain the right to utilize, reprint and distribute all said information and materials. Liability The Department will not be held liable for any costs incurred by any firm for work performed in the preparation of and production of a proposal or for any works performed prior to the formal execution of a contract. Confidentiality All written materials developed for the project as a result of a grant and /or documents submitted to the Department, shall be considered public except any information in which there is a privacy interest and that interest and the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure of the personal, financial, and business information contained therein. If an applicant/funding recipient deems a document to be confidential, please contact program staff to discuss.