This segment of the series will cover Key Requirements for Applicant Eligibility and Energy Efficient Lighting.
Key Requirements for Applicant Eligibility
For most grants through the USDA, applicant eligibility includes reasonable and fair requirements. You would typically be eligible if you are an agricultural producer with no outstanding judgements from the United States; if you have paid your income taxes; if you have not been “debarred” from receiving federal assistance; if you are not a felon, nor recently employed a felon to do your bookkeeping; and if you pay utility bills or can access the bills to show energy usage.
Lights: Lights are often bigger energy hogs than you might realize, especially if you have a lot of them in animal housing or shops. If recommended in your on-farm energy audit, lighting replacement projects may be paid for in part via EQIP through the NRCS. One of our applicants used a 2015 REAP grant to help cover the cost of switching to more energy efficient lights that will save their business thousands of dollars every year. Good save!
Look for our next issue where we’ll continue untangling the alphabet soup!