The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting Fiscal Year 2023 grant proposals for its Animal Waste Technology Fund. Interested applicants should submit a Letter of Intent to the Department by October 21, 2022. Submissions will be reviewed and ranked by MDA in consultation with the Animal Waste Technology Evaluation Committee. High-ranking projects will be invited to submit a full grant proposal by December 30, 2022.
MDA defines animal waste as “any waste stream generated by an on-farm animal or waste generated through an animal production process involving Maryland livestock.” Examples of waste generated through an animal production process include dairy wastewater, poultry processing waste, and livestock carcasses. To be eligible for this grant, the project must have strong potential to:
- Improve public health and the environment
- Preserve the viability of the agricultural industry; and
- Have a positive economic development impact on the state.
The Animal Waste Technology Fund provides grants to individuals, vendors, and businesses to demonstrate proven innovative technologies to manage animal waste in Maryland. These technologies may reduce the amount of nutrients in animal waste, change the product form or function for alternative uses, or produce energy and other marketable products and by-products from the waste. Technologies in the research and development stage are not eligible for this grant.
Maryland along with Chesapeake Bay watershed states are working to meet federally mandated nutrient and sediment reduction goals needed to restore the health of the Bay by 2025. Maryland farmers play a crucial role in helping the state meet its goals. To help farmers protect waterways from excess nutrients and remain profitable, Maryland invests in innovative technologies that support new uses for animal waste such as alternative product development and manure-to-energy projects that add value to the farm business model.
Maryland’s Animal Waste Technology Fund has approximately $3.3 million available to invest in innovative technologies during Fiscal Year 2023, which ends June 30, 2023. Funding support is provided by the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund. Vendors, businesses, and individuals are invited to respond to this grant request. For information about the program and full details on information to be included in the Letter of Intent, please visit the MDA website. Completed letters should be submitted by 4 p.m. local time on October 21, 2022 to:
Alisha Mulkey, Maryland Department of Agriculture Office of Resource Conservation, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway in Annapolis, Maryland 21401 ; Email [email protected]
