Sources Sought Notice - Agroforestry & Related Grasslands Management Technology Demonstration

The summary for the Sources Sought Notice - Agroforestry & Related Grasslands Management Technology Demonstration grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the North Carolina State Office, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Sources Sought Notice - Agroforestry & Related Grasslands Management Technology Demonstration: The USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice to determine if there are parties who are capable and interested in performing the required services. All interested parties should respond to this Notice by providing the Contracting Officer with a statement of interest and a description of their capability to perform the statement of work as described in this Notice. Employees of the USDA-NRCS in North Carolina are not currently performing this service. This will be a new effort to develop one or more demonstrations on various aspects of agroforestry and other emerging grasslands management technologies, and to collect and analyze data associated with these demonstrations to better understand the potential for these practices in North Carolina. The analysis from this project will address both environmental aspects of the practice, as well as economic viability for the producer. Consideration will be provided throughout the study for small and limited resource farmers. The project will also include coordination with the NC Forage and Grassland Council and the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, and result in information dissemination through newsletters and similar technical publications. Responses to this Notice must include, as a minimum, the following information: (1) a statement of interest in performing this work, (2) the size of organization and number of employees who hold college degrees in agronomy, grazing or grassland related disciplines, forestry, and related fields applicable to this project, (3) experience conducting studies of environmental and farming systems in North Carolina, (4) experience developing and implementing studies to understand the effect of BMPs on agricultural lands, (5) experience with and knowledge of the NRCS conservation planning process and Field Office Technical Guide, (6) a description of experience managing projects of similar size, scope, and technical areas, (7) a description of access to suitable land in coastal plain of North Carolina where the demonstration(s) can be conducted, including access to grazing animals, control of the land for at least 20 years, accessibility by NRCS and other agencies to evaluate the project results and conduct training, (8) access to a facility for classroom training, and (9) experience of staff in training professional natural resource employees. Interested parties should respond to this Notice no later than 4:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Monday, June 12, 2006 to: Elizabeth Caldwell, Contracting Officer, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 205, Raleigh, NC 27609. Background Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry resulting in integrated, diverse, productive, and sustainable land-use systems. Agroforestry and its various component practices are focused on the concept of sustainable development, and are designed to meet the economic and environmental objectives of land users. Agroforestry practices have been gaining interest across the nation and within North Carolina. The practices are emerging as a viable land management alternative for small farms and limited resource farmers, and offer potential environmental, economic and management opportunities that may be more attractive than traditional timber, pasture, and cropland management practices. NRCS in North Carolina added Silvopasture Establishment (Code 381) to it Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) in November 2005 and Alley Cropping (Code 311) in May 2005 (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/), making the practices eligible to receive technical assistance from NRCS and its partners, as well as financial assistance through the various conservation programs in the 2002 Farm Bill. Project Rationale Although there are a number of practices that fall under the general area of agroforestry, this project will focus specially on silvopasture and alleycropping. Others, such as windbreaks and riparian forest buffers, are more commonly accepted in North Carolina. For silvopasture and alleycropping, significant obstacles to adoption include the lack of demonstration sites and related outreach/training for producers, as well as a lack of in-field training opportunities for technical agency staff in NRCS, SWCDs, NCCES, NCDACS, NCDFR, and others. These obstacles are more challenging due to the timeframe required to establish viable demonstrations. This project is designed to address these two obstacles. Project Objectives The specific objectives of this proposed study are to: (1) to establish several long-term agroforestry system demonstration and training sites in the coastal plain of North Carolina, (2) to conduct evaluations of these sites to enhance the technical guidance available to potential practice adopters, (3) to conduct training for NRCS and other technical agencies who assist land users in conservation planning activities, and (4) to prepare outreach and technical publications to encourage the adoption of these practices. Scope or Work The Recipient agrees to Deliverable 1: Working collaboratively with NCSU, NRCS, NCCES, NCDACS, NCDFR, and others, to develop a demonstration/study plan to accomplish the project objectives. At a minimum the plan will include (1) silvopasture development from a clear cut forested site, (2) silvopasture development following thinning of an established forested site, and (3) alley cropping development from an existing agricultural field. Specific study questions will be identified. Estimated completion date: September 2006. Deliverable 2: Working collaboratively with other interested organizations, identify a set of sites to establish demonstrations and training. Estimated completion Date: October 2006. Deliverable 3: Complete the tree planting, woodland thinning, and other activities to transition these sites. Develop site specific conservation planning/management prescriptions for the practice operation and management. Estimated completion date: Spring 2007. Deliverable 4: Release information on the results of the study, as well as other emerging grassland management information, through the Forage and Grassland Council newsletter, as well as other publications. Estimated completion date: TBD Deliverable 5: Provide input to NRCS in North Carolina on the two agroforestry technical standards: silvopasture establishment and alleycropping. Estimated completion date: TBD Deliverable 6: Maintain these demonstration sites, and provide a semi-annual progress report on the status and results of the study. Estimated completion date: TBD Deliverable 7: Conduct technical training on-site to NRCS and other agencies on establishment, management, and planning considerations for silvopasture and alleycropping practices. Estimated completion dates: 2007, future dates TBD. Deliverable 8: Conduct training for producers on the benefits and considerations for adopting these practices. Estimated completion dates: TBD Original Point of Contact Jane LaBounty, State Administrative Officer, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 205, Raleigh, NC 27609 Place of Performance The demonstration(s) and study will be conducted at one or more yet-to-be-determined sites selected in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina.