Emergency Relief Program Outreach Education and Technical Assistance

 

The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) is intended to help agricultural producers offset the impacts of natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Congress included emergency funding in the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43). ERPs first round of disaster funding provided payments to producers using existing data and did not require outreach because producers were automatically enrolled in the program. The second phase of ERP is aimed at filling gaps and providing assistance to producers who did not participate in or receive payments through the existing risk management programs that were leveraged for phase 1 implementation. Phase 2 of ERP will provide assistance to producers who suffered losses due to qualifying natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. This program will be revenue based and will require participation in a risk management program for the next two crop years. These eligibility criteria and risk management linkage requirements create unique needs around outreach and technical assistance for this program. Producers will need to supply information to FSA that would typically be found on their Schedule F tax forms, and if they have not filed a Schedule F, be able to supply acceptable revenue records or create the required application data from their own farm records. Producers will also need to identify and enroll in the appropriate risk management program for their operation. The assistance ERP program participants will need in order to supply application information will be unique to their individual operation and tax situation, and more technical than the information we typically provide as part of general outreach and program education. As a result, the communication, technical support, and outreach strategies around ERP for producers need to be focused, targeted and technical in nature. This program also offers the opportunity to connect with producers who have not worked with their local FSA office, and an opportunity to not only participate in ERP but also serve as a gateway to risk management tools and other FSA and USDA programs and services. FSA has $8 million available for cooperative agreements to provide outreach and technical assistance for the Emergency Relief Program Phase 2. The Farm Service Agency (FSA), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), seeks to partner with stakeholder organizations to effectively reach producers, including those that are small, underserved, and not currently participating in existing programs who did not apply under phase 1 of the ERP program. FSA is seeking proposals from eligible entities that focus on outreach for increasing awareness about ERP and have the primary goal of connecting landowners interested in program participation to apply under a traditional FSA application process. Expeditated outreach by stakeholders should include: Technical assistance support Tools for nontraditional customers Office hours for stakeholders Targeted, timely stakeholder feedback on areas that need improvement.

Active 10.975 Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture B - Project Grants Not applicable. Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program (2 CFR 200.206(d)). Not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program. Preapplication coordination is required. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Emergency Relief Program - Phase 2 - provides assistance to those producers not covered under Phase 1 and may include shallow losses, extended quality, and producers who did not avail themselves of risk management crop insurance/NAP. There will be noncompetitive agreements for eligible entities to provide technical assistance. Applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete, noncompliant, and/or applications not meeting the formatting criteria may be eliminated from competition. In that event, the agency will send notification of elimination to the applicant. An applicant must meet the following standards to be considered for award: a. Financial Stability. The applicant maintains an adequate financial resources or cash flow to meet its financial obligations on a routine basis in order to successfully complete any agreement it may be awarded. b. Quality of Management Systems and Ability to meet Management Standards prescribed in 2 CFR Part 200. The applicant has a financial management system adequate to segregate and track federal funds. It has adequate systems in place for proper agreement administration; compliance with the standards outlined in 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart D for procurement, property, and records management; and required financial and performance reporting. c. History of Performance. If the applicant has previously obtained Federal financial assistance award, it has never failed to materially comply with the Federal award terms and conditions and further that it has never had an award terminated on that basis. Submission of an application constitutes certification that an applicant meets these standards (items a. through c. above). The agency may request documentation to substantiate the certification. Based on risk assessment, the agency may impose specific award conditions in accordance with 2 CFR 200.208. Awards Over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (if applicable) a. Prior to making a Federal award with a total Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000), the agency must review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (the Federal Awardee Performance Integrity Information System, FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313 and 2 CFR 200.206(a)); b. An applicant may review information in FAPIIS accessible through SAM and comment on any information about it that a Federal awarding agency previously entered; c. The agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2 CFR 200.206, Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. Merit/technical reviews will be conducted by a technical review board nominated by the approving official. Risk reviews will be conducted by the FPAC Business Center, Grants and Agreements Division. The approving official will make the final award decisions. The approving official for this opportunity is the FSA Outreach Division Director. USDA staff will evaluate complete proposals based on these Proposal Evaluation Criteria (100 points possible) prior to submitting scoring data to the FSA Outreach Division Director for final award selection: Merit/Technical Criteria Proposal Ranking Criteria and Associated Points Possible: 1. Project narrative and project results. The number of ERP Eligible Project Types addressed, project goals, and how results and impacts will be measured and/or evaluated. The number of priority States covered in the project. The geographic area to be covered. (0-25 points). 2. Provides for direct ERP technical assistance to underserved producers beginning farmers and other eligible producers who did not participate in existing risk management programs. Details the type of technical assistance that will be provided and how it benefits the target audience. If proposal meaningfully targets and engages beginning-, veterans, and historically underserved communities to benefit from project. (0-25 points). 3. Presents a reasonable scope of activities that can be conducted within the budget, time, and resources of the program. Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and contain a timeline for completion. (0-10 points). 4. Amount of relevant experience and/or expertise described for required key personnel and/or entities needed to successfully complete the project (0-5 points). 5. Budget and budget narrative are reasonable and in line with proposed scope of work. Costs are described and clearly support the proposed project (0-10 points). 6. Demonstrated relevant experience to the project proposal. Project involves two or more partners from diverse disciplines and expertise to achieve project objectives and outcomes. Partners include private and public sector organizations. Partners contribute to strength and skills necessary to achieve project goals within the specified timeline. (0-15 points). 7. Communication plan is reasonable to reach various agricultural producers via outreach activities. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 60 to 90 days. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Expeditated outreach by stakeholders should include: Technical assistance support Tools for nontraditional customers Office hours for stakeholders Targeted, timely stakeholder feedback on areas that need improvement Performance Reports: Recipients must provide the following to the agency: • Quarterly performance reports that compare accomplishments to the objectives stated in the application, and that must also: • Identify all tasks completed to date and provide documentation supporting the reported results (dates and locations of activities, county, city state; number of participants assisted, barriers to participation); • If the original schedule provided in the work plan is not being met, discuss the problems or delays that may affect completion of the project; • List objectives for the next reporting period. In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503 In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503. This program is subject to 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements. Recipients must retain all records pertaining to the agreement in accordance with 2 CFR 200.333-337 and any additional requirements included in the agreement statement of work. Per 2 CFR 200.334, financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other non-Federal entity records pertinent to a Federal award must be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report or, for Federal awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual financial report, respectively, as reported to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity in the case of a subrecipient. Federal awarding agencies and pass-through entities must not impose any other record retention requirements upon non-Federal entities. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Funding is available and must be spent by December 31, 2023. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Quarterly. Contact FSA's Outreach Office at fsaoutreach@usda.gov with additional questions. Linda Cronin
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Stop 0511
Washington, DC 20250-0511
Washington, DC 20250 USA
fsaoutreach@usda.gov
Phone: (202) 690-1700 https://www.fsa.usda.gov/outreach 12-0115-0-1-351 (Cooperative Agreements) FY 22 FY 23 est $4,000,000.00; FY 24 est $0.00; FY 21 - Because this is a new program, data for averages is not readily available. However, anticipated ranges may fall between $50,000 and $2,000,000. Not applicable. Fiscal Year 2023 FSA needs to effectively reach producers, including those that are small, underserved, and not currently participating in existing programs and seeks to partner with stakeholders through cooperative and/or interagency agreements. FSA will rely on partner organizations to assist producers who need tailored technical assistance to prepare their applications due to the revenue-based nature of the program and linkage requirements.