Maryland Department of Agriculture Accepting Proposals for 2020 Animal Waste Technology Grants

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Maryland Department of Agriculture is now accepting Fiscal Year 2020 grant proposals for the department’s Animal Waste Technology Fund. This Fund seeks projects from vendors, businesses, and individuals offering technologies that can demonstrate innovative, economically-feasible management and utilization of manure and manure products.

The Fund has approximately $3.5 million available to invest in innovative technologies during FY 2020, which ends June 30, 2020. There is no maximum or minimum request. To be eligible for financial assistance, the project must have a strong potential to improve public health and the environment; preserve the viability of the agriculture industry; and have a positive economic development impact in Maryland.

Applications can be downloaded on the department’s Animal Waste Technology Grants website. Proposals should be submitted by 4 p.m. on December 1, 2019 to:

Ms. Alisha Mulkey
Maryland Department of Agriculture — Office of Resource Conservation
50 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Email: alisha.mulkey@maryland.gov
Fax: 410-841-5734

Email submissions with application attachments in PDF or Word format are preferred. Please view the Fund’s 2020 Request for Proposals for more information regarding application submission, eligibility, and deadlines.

The purpose of this Fund is to encourage the development and implementation of proven and innovative technologies that manage agricultural manure and on-farm generated waste in a manner that reduces the amount of nutrients in the waste; changes the product’s form or function for alternative uses; or produces energy or other marketable products from the waste.

Maryland and other Bay jurisdictions are in the final phase of a multi-state Bay cleanup effort that is working to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing the amount of sediment and nutrients — mainly nitrogen and phosphorus — entering its waters by 2025.

While poultry litter and livestock manure make excellent fertilizers and soil amendments, their use as a crop fertilizer creates challenges for farms with high soil phosphorus levels. To help these producers protect waterways from excess phosphorus and remain profitable, Maryland is investing in technologies that support new uses for manure such as alternative product development and manure-to-energy projects that add value to the farm business model.

Funding support for the Animal Waste Technology Fund is provided by the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund and the Maryland Energy Administration. For more information, visit the Animal Waste Technology Grants’ website or contact Alisha Mulkey at 410-841-5863 or alisha.mulkey@maryland.gov.

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