October, 2000
Adoption
001 Statement of Purpose §§2-5401 to 2-
5412
002 Administration §§2-5401 to 2-5412
003 Definitions §§2-5401 to 2-
5412003
004 Eligible Applicants §§2-5401 to 2-5412
005 Application Process §§2-5401 to 2-
5412
006 Restrictions §§2-5401 to 2-5412
007 Evaluation Criteria and Scoring §§2-5401
to 2-5412
008 Performance Review Process §§2-5401
to 2-5412008
009 Failure to Comply §§2-5401 to 2-
5412
010 Grant Renewal Process §§2-5401 to 2-
5412
011 Annotation §§2-5401 to 2-5412
001 Statement of Purpose. The purpose of
these regulations is to aid in administering the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-
Added Partnerships Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§2-5401
to 2-5412.
002 Administration. The Agricultural Opportunities
and Value-Added Partnerships Act and these regulations shall be administered by the Department
of Agriculture, Ag Promotion and Development Division, located in the State Office
Building, Fourth Floor, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska. The mailing
address is P.O. Box 94947, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4947. The telephone number is
(402) 471-4876.
003 Definitions. In addition to the terms listed
below, the definition of terms found in the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added
Partnerships Act shall apply to such terms when found in these regulations:
003.02 APPLICANT means any entity that has submitted an
application for consideration to receive grant funds pursuant to the Act.
003.03 DEPARTMENT means the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture.
003.04 IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION means the value of services,
equipment or labor used in direct support of the proposal.
003.05 MATCHING FUNDS means an amount of funds
provided by the applicant. Matching funds shall not be from other grant funding sources
or other federal or state programs. Funds can be from sources such as membership
dues, revenues, non-governmental donations, or from private sources.
003.06 PROGRAM YEAR shall mean the period of operation of
the grant program as specified in the time periods below:
003.06B Program year two beginning July 1, 2001, ending June 30,
2002.
003.06C Program year three beginning July 1, 2002, ending June 30,
2003.
003.07B April - June.
003.07C July - September.
003.07D October - December.
003.09 RECIPIENT means any applicant who has been
selected to receive grant funds pursuant to the Act.
003.10 SUSTAINABLE means the ability for the project to
operate independently of supporting grant funds from any source beyond the proposed
length of the project being funded.
004 Eligible Applicants.
004.02 Applicants must be able to equal a 25% match and meet the
other requirements of §2-5408 to participate in the grant program.
004.03 Applicants who are awarded grant funding under this program
will not be able to utilize such funding to refinance debt.
004.04 Applicants must be established within Nebraska and have a
valid tax identification number or social security number to be eligible under this program.
004.05 Applicants must be located within Nebraska and have Nebraska
based ownership.
005 Application Process.
005.02 To be considered, applicants shall complete an application form
which includes the following:
005.02B A disclosure document detailing all anticipated contract
relationships that will be involved and potential contractors;
005.02C A budget which lists all expected expenses required to execute
the proposal as well as all revenues to be generated in support of the proposal;
005.02D A narrative describing the proposal and how the proposal
meets the identified purposes of the Act; and,
005.02E Applicants must be able to show on the application that the
goals of the submitted proposal are consistent with §2-5404 of the Act, and in the areas set
forth in §2-5407 of the Act.
005.04 Applicants will be required to include the name of a contact
person and the appropriate address with the initial application. The Department will only
communicate with this contact person.
005.05 The Department will accept applications received during a
period of 30 days which precedes each calendar quarter during the grant program years. All
applications received during this period will be reviewed and applicants will be notified of
approval or denial. Applications will be considered only if funds remain for the current program
year.
005.06 Applications will be reviewed quarterly and prioritized based on
the prescribed selection criteria, as established in 29 NAC 1-007. Such funding will be awarded
to the selected eligible applicants.
005.07 No funding under this program will be available until the
applicant has signed an agreement with the Department to comply with the terms of the Act
and these regulations.
005.08 Applicants choosing to re-apply for the next calendar quarter
will have to re-submit an application.
005.09 The Department may use discretion in the amount awarded for
each eligible application. The decision to fund the entire project or only a portion of the
project will be made by the Department.
005.10 If needed, the Department may request additional information
from the applicants.
005.11 The Department may reserve funds for distribution in later
calendar quarters.
006 Restrictions.
006.02 Grant funds must be used exclusively for the purposes listed in
each proposal.
006.03 Grant funds shall be used solely for the benefit of the project
described in the grant proposal.
006.04 A recipient of a grant shall not receive more than one grant in
any one program year for the same project.
006.05 Grant funds shall not be used for the administrative expenses
restricted by §2-5405(6).
006.06 Grant recipients must not violate any laws or regulations in the
course of completing the project.
007 Evaluation Priority Criteria.
007.02 Priority will be given to those proposals that satisfy the
following criteria:
007.02B Matching funds, in-kind contributions, or both exceed the
minimum 25% match required of the total funds;
007.02C Directness of relationship between grant recipient and an
active farming or ranching operation;
007.02D Utilization of Nebraska labor or raw materials;
007.02E The project will be located or generally operated in a rural
area; and,
007.02F Projects that make the greatest contribution in increasing the
number and quality of self employment opportunities for farming or
ranching operations.
008 Performance Review Process.
008.02 All final reports submitted to the Department at the end of a
grant project will include the following:
008.02B A detailed description of all matching funds and in-kind
contributions;
008.02C A description of how the project met the goals and measurable
impacts as listed in the grant proposal; and,
008.02D A brief description of future expectations of the project
covered by the grant.
008.04 The Department may require any recipient to provide special
reports regarding the project.
008.05 The recipient must retain all records related to the project for a
period of five years. The recipient must also provide access to all such records in order to
allow the Department to perform an audit of the project.
009 Failure to Comply.
009.02 Any recipient found to have failed to comply with the grant
program may be subject to repay a portion or all of the grant funds awarded.
009.03 The Department may use any appropriate civil and criminal
remedies available if any recipient is found to have failed to comply with the grant program.
010 Grant Renewal Process.
010.02 Any project found not to be in compliance with the grant
program will make the recipient ineligible to receive future grant funding under the program.
011 Annotation. Neb. Rev.
Stat. §§2-5401 to 2-5412 (2000 Neb. Laws, LB 1348).
003.01 ACT means the Agricultural Opportunities and Value-
Added Partnerships Act.
003.06A Program year one beginning January 1, 2001, ending
June 30, 2001.
003.07 CALENDAR QUARTER shall mean the following periods:
003.07A January - March.
003.08 PROPOSAL means any activity that is submitted for
consideration for grant funds by an applicant pursuant to the Act.
004.01 Any entity listed in §2-5406 of the Act is eligible to apply
for a grant.
005.01 All applicants for grant funding will be required to submit a
fully completed grant application form obtained from the Department, or a form substantially
similar to the Department's form. The Department form can be obtained by contacting the
Department of Agriculture, as listed in section 002. Application forms will be available from the
Department beginning the first business day of December, 2000, through the remainder of the
program.
005.02A The timetable for completion of the entire proposal for which
funding is being requested;
005.03 Applicants must agree to hold the Department and the State of
Nebraska harmless from all liability under any contract the applicant has entered into, or
intends to enter into, related to the project.
006.01 Grant funds shall not be used for any activity primarily designed
to contribute to a single business, enterprise or individual, nor used to subsidize an existing
farming or ranching operation.
007.01 Once the applicant meets the requirements of sections 004, 005,
and 006, the application will be reviewed and the Department shall give special
consideration for proposals which include the criteria listed in this section.
007.02A The proposal is sustainable beyond the grant funding;
008.01 All recipients will be required to submit a final report obtained
from the Department. Final reports will be obtained from the Department or be completed
on forms substantially similar to the Department's form. The Department forms can be obtained
by contacting the Department of Agriculture, as listed in section 002. All final reports are due to
the Department within 45 days of completion of the project, and not later than 12 months
following notification of the award of funding under this program.
008.02A A detailed financial report listing all income and expenses
relating to the grant project;
008.03 The recipient must submit the completed final report on time
regardless of any contract provisions or other obligations the recipient may have with others.
Any request for an extension must include a revised deadline and be submitted in writing 30 days
prior to the original deadline.
009.01 The Department will determine the recipient has failed to
comply with the grant program if the recipient misused the funding, failed to fulfill the
requirements of the grant, used fraud to obtain or use the grant funds, or has in any other way
failed to comply with the Act or these regulations.
010.01 Grants for projects shall be awarded on a program year basis,
but may at the discretion of the Department, be renewed each year for up to three years.
Any recipient requesting renewed funding will be required to re-submit an updated application
form for each program year.